Wisconsin
Noah Kahan’s sold-out Alpine Valley show in Wisconsin evacuated, postponed due to storms
Watch: Noah Kahan’s sold-out Wisconsin concert evacuated due to storms
People in the lawn at the sold-out, 37,000-person-capacity East Troy venue were told to evacuate to their cars due to impending storms.
A sold-out Noah Kahan show at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy on Saturday was partially evacuated due to storms before the folk-pop superstar took the stage.
The show was officially postponed at 10:15 p.m., according to a message on the Alpine Valley Facebook page, with an announcement made in the venue five minutes later. A new date will be announced on the venue’s social media pages, and previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date.
At 8:07 p.m. Saturday, the first announcement was made over the amphitheater’s sound system that due to incoming storms, everyone seeing the show in the lawn “must seek shelters in their vehicles at this time,” while people seated in the covered pavilion were told they could shelter in place.
The announcement caused an uproar – with most people in the lawn not moving as of 8:18 p.m. The weather was still clear in East Troy at that time.
A second announcement was made at 8:29 p.m., but at that time, thousands in the lawn remained in place and the weather remained clear. Then at 8:45 p.m., fans in the lower bowl started singing Kahan songs like “Stick Season” and “Growing Sideways” a cappella, as well as “HOT TO GO!” by pop breakthrough Chappell Roan.
A third announcement was made at 8:55 p.m. “Folks, up in the lawn, again, we’ve got weather coming. Please seek shelter in your vehicle until the storm passes,” a crew member said on stage. About five minutes later the first strike of lightning hit the area, and the lawn started thinning out but thousands remained there as of 9:02 p.m.
Ten minutes later an announcer told people remaining on the lawn to come down in an orderly fashion to the covered seats. Winds picked up rapidly soon after that, and the first rumble of thunder hit at 9:14 p.m., followed by chants of “Noah.”
Adding to the complications: terrible phone and internet connections at the packed venue in rural Walworth County.
Ivy Bloomfield and Jillian Myers came to the show from Chicago, and since they didn’t have a car, were struggling to connect with their ride to update them on the show’s status.
“It’s scary,” Bloomfield said about the situation and struggling to connect with their parents, adding that the situation was “anxiety-inducing.”
Lennon Maher and Avery Tiller from Madison were trying desperately to connect with their parents. They were separated from them at the time of the evacuation order, and since they didn’t have keys to the family car, and were concerned they would be stuck in the unsheltered lawn parking when the storm hit, decided to hunker down in their seats. They were able to connect again in their seats around 10 p.m.
The amphitheater has about 7,500 seats in the sheltered sections closest to the stage, with the vast majority of seating available in the lawn. The amphitheater can accommodate up to 37,000 people.
Folk-pop breakout Kahan is slated to have one of the largest audiences of any artist in Wisconsin in 2024, par for the course for one of the most rapid ascents in recent years, thanks to his breakout album “Stick Season.”
In February 2023 he played a sold-out Miller High Life Theatre in Milwaukee for about 4,500 people – then four months later performed for one of the largest crowds ever assembled for a Summerfest side stage headliner at the Milwaukee festival’s UScellular Connection Stage.
This is the second concert at Alpine this year impacted by bad weather. Dave Matthews Band had to cancel a planned show June 22, part of a two-night stint. It was rescheduled for June 30.
Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin judge sends Slender Man attacker back to mental health institution after group home escape
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin woman who almost killed her sixth-grade classmate to please the fictional horror villain known as Slender Man was ordered back to a state psychiatric hospital Tuesday after she escaped from her group home last month.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge K. Scott Wagner granted a state Department of Health Services request to revoke 23-year-old Morgan Geyser’s release privileges. Geyser told the judge through her attorney, Tony Cotton, last week that she would not fight revocation. Wagner then approved the request during a short hearing.
Cotton didn’t immediately respond to an email message seeking comment.
Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a Waukesha park in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier cheered her on. A passing bicyclist discovered Leutner, who barely survived. All three girls were 12 years old at the time.
Geyser and Weier later told investigators they attacked Leutner in hopes of impressing Slender Man enough that he would make them his servants and wouldn’t hurt their families. Both of them were eventually committed to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute — Geyser for 40 years and Weier for 25 years.
Weier earned conditional release in 2021. Wagner granted Geyser conditional release this past September despite warnings from state Department of Health Services officials that she couldn’t be trusted.
Geyser was placed in a Madison group home. Authorities say that on Nov. 22 she cut off her GPS monitor and fled the state with a 43-year-old companion. Police arrested both of them the next day at a truck stop outside Chicago, about 170 miles (274 kilometers) south of Madison.
Geyser’s companion told WKOW-TV that the two of them became friends at church and had been seeing each other daily for the last month. Geyser decided to escape because she was afraid the group home would no longer allow them to see each other, the companion said.
Slender Man was created online by Eric Knudsen in 2009 as a mysterious figure photo-edited into everyday images of children at play. He grew into a popular boogeyman, appearing in video games, online stories and a 2018 movie.
MILWAUKEE – The FBI calls it an online crime against kids – perpetrators convincing kids to send sexual images of themselves and then blackmailing them.
Online crime against kids
The backstory:
The reality is settling in. This will be Brittney Bird’s first Christmas without her son, Bradyn Bohn, since he was born. That is because just nine months ago, the 15-year-old died by suicide, just hours after telling his family good night.
“This winter has been pretty heavy,” Bird said. “This will be a lot of first this year.”
Bird said Bradyn was the kind of kid who would always try to make you launch. The teen had a lot of friends, played sports, did well academically, and had big plans for the future.
“Definitely a kid who we were just so proud of,” Bird said. “Bradyn never struggled with or suffered from mental illness or depression or anything of that nature so immediately we knew, you know something’s wrong.”
Once police went through Bradyn’s phone, she said it came out he was the victim of the cyber crime, sextortion.
What is sextortion?
What we know:
“Sextortion is a form of online child exploitation where a child is coerced by a perpetrator to send compromising images,” said Jesse Crowe from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
This week, the Wisconsin Department of Justice sent out a public service announcement on sextortion.
Officials say suspects often pose as someone else online. While exchanging messages, they convince a child to send images of themselves. Once they have explicit images of the child, they use the photos or videos to blackmail the child into sending even more images, money or ask for sexual favors.
FBI data, change in Wisconsin law
Dig deeper:
The FBI said victims are typically males between the ages of 14 and 17, but any child can be a target.
This crime led to at least 20 suicides between October 2021 and March 2023.
In the months after Bradyn’s death, change would come to Wisconsin. Earlier in December, Gov. Tony Evers signed Bradyn’s Law. It creates a new crime of sexual extortion in Wisconsin. It aims to ensure harsh penalties for those who exploit children online.
“It will bring, hopefully statewide, eventually nationwide attention to where every family is having this conversation with their kids,” Bird told FOX6 News.
Take action
What you can do:
The Department of Justice said the best thing to do if a child finds themselves in this situation is the following:
- Block the perpetrator
- Report the account, but do not delete the messages
- Tell a trusted adult
- Do not send any money
Resources available
The Source: Information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.
Holiday lights map
The City of Milwaukee Christmas Tree, Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival and Candy Cane Lane holiday events make the season bright.
President Donald Trump declared Christmas Eve and Dec. 26 to be federal holidays this year.
The Dec. 18 executive order deems the days as work holidays for all federal departments and agencies, but adds some of them will remain open. Certain offices may stay open on one or both days for “national security, defense, or other public need,” the order reads.
But, what does this mean for other federal workers and services?
Here’s what to know in Wisconsin:
Are Christmas Eve, Dec. 26 official federal holidays?
Even though Christmas Eve and Dec. 26 have been declared federal holidays in 2025, they are not permanent additions to the holiday schedule.
Legislation must be passed by Congress and then signed into law by the president for a federal holiday declaration to be official.
Who gets Christmas Eve, Dec. 26 off in Wisconsin?
Only federal agencies are set to be closed on Christmas Eve and Dec. 26, according to USA TODAY.
Since these two days have not been designated permanent federal holidays, many businesses that follow the schedule will likely not give their employees a last-minute extended Christmas break.
Wisconsin state government and Milwaukee city offices are closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but will be open on Dec. 26.
Will mail still be delivered on Christmas Eve, Dec. 26 in Wisconsin?
Yes. The U.S. Postal Service will deliver mail and post office locations will remain open on Christmas Eve and Dec. 26, according to its website. Mail will not be delivered and locations will be closed on Christmas.
Will banks be open on Christmas Eve, Dec. 26 in Wisconsin?
Yes. Banks will follow the typical schedule of being open on Christmas Eve and Dec. 26, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve. Banks will be closed on Christmas.
Mary Walrath-Holdridge of USA TODAY contributed to this report.
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