A mother and daughter from Powell were among six people who died earlier this week in a Wisconsin house fire.

The fire occurred around 2:35 a.m. Sunday at a home in Necedah, a village located northwest of Madison.

Six people died in the fire, including Charis Kuehl, 38, and her 5-year-old daughter, Stella. Four other family members also died in the fire, including Kuehl’s sister and father.

Kuehl and her husband, Stephen, had been visiting with Kuehl’s extended family, according to a GoFundMe set up to benefit the family.

‘Fully engulfed in flames’: What we know about the Wisconsin house fire that killed a family of 6

Stephen and the couple’s other two children escaped the fire.

The family had recently bought a home in Minnesota, where Stephen Kuehl had accepted a job to teach at a local high school. The family remains in the process of moving from Powell to Minnesota, according to the GoFundMe.

Stephen Kuehl has served as the pastor of Shepherd of Peace Lutheran Church in Powell since 2011.

The online fundraiser had a goal of raising $75,000, but had doubled that effort with more than $130,000 raised as of Thursday afternoon.

The fire remains under investigation, but reports indicate the cause is believed to be accidental.

bbruner@gannett.com

MADISON – Sunday Wisconsin volleyball star Sarah Franklin injured her left ankle while competing for the United States national team at the NORCECA Pan American Cup Final Six in the Dominican Republic.

Wednesday Badgers coach Kelly Sheffield said the 6-foot-4 outside hitter suffered a sprained ankle with a small fracture. The timeline for her return has not been determined.

The good news for the Badgers is that UW is about a month away from the start of practice. Wisconsin’s season-opening match will be Aug. 27 vs. Louisville on the road.

Franklin, the reigning national player of the year, suffered the injury midway through the third set of a five-set loss in the gold medal match.  She appeared to land on the foot of a Dominican Republic player after attempting a block. At the time the United States led the set, 14-13, and the match was tied at one set apiece.

During the rest of the match Franklin could be seen on the bench with ice on her ankle. She participated in the medal ceremony without the aid of crutches though she walked with a limp.

She returned to Madison on Monday and was checked out by the UW medical staff Tuesday and Wednesday.

Franklin’s injury brought to a premature end what was a strong showing in her first appearance for the senior national team. She finished with 33 kills, four blocks, two aces and a 54% attack percentage.

Madison, WI – The Madison Mallards opened up the second half of the Northwoods League campaign with a 1-0 victory over the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in front of 6,750 fans at Warner Park on Wednesday night. 

Similarly to Monday’s game at Warner Park, runs were hard to come by. Coley Kilpatrick (North Carolina A&T) delivered his best start of the season to date, tossing five shutout innings. He allowed five hits, one walk and struck out five. 

The Mallards struck first in the game when Will Vierling (Louisville) tapped a ball down the third base line, and Davis Hamilton (North Dakota State) scampered home to score on the throw to first base. Wisconsin Rapids put traffic on the basepaths throughout the game, but struggled to come through with timely hits. 

The Rafters had a runner reach third base with one out in the seventh inning but Tyler Guerin (Iowa) worked out of the jam on the mound. In the eighth inning, the Rafters got the tying run to third base again, but Ryan Osinski (Virginia) retired his college teammate Walker Buchanan (Virginia) with a fly out to end the frame.

Then in the ninth, the Rafters put runners on the corners with one out in the inning. Osinski got Cashel Dugger (UCLA) to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the ballgame, as the Mallards held on to win 1-0. Wisconsin Rapids was shutout despite recording ten hits.

Kilpatrick earned the win for the Mallards, his first of the season. Bryson Moore (Virginia) pitched well for the Rafters, but was charged with the loss. Osinski picked up his first save of the season.

The Mallards will head to Wisconsin Rapids to face the Rafters again on Thursday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. The next home game at Warner Park for the Mallards will be on Friday night against the Lakeshore Chinooks, with first pitch at 6:05 p.m.