Authorities mull Friday night incident near Lake Hanska

50 to 60 people

gathered at Geiger's Point, possibly to

watch a pending fight

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Brown County authorities are expected to meet soon to discuss how the investigation into a Friday night incident near Lake Hanska should be handled.

The Brown County Sheriff's Department said that about 50-60 people and 25-30 vehicles were discovered at Geiger's Point around 10 p.m. Friday by deputies who were responding to a call about people yelling near that location.

Deputies arrived and found many of the people in the area trying to leave. They later gathered driver's licenses from some of the people who were at the scene.

Geiger's Point is on the north side of Lake Hanska in Albin Township, 8 miles west of the city of Hanska.

Many of the people in the area were juveniles and adults, ranging from ages 16 to 27. They came from Sleepy Eye, New Ulm, Springfield and Sanborn, allegedly to watch a fight between New Ulm Cathedral students and students from both Sleepy Eye St. Mary's and Sleepy Eye Public.

"The information doesn't indicate that any fight took place," said Chief Deputy Bob Christensen. "It apparently got stopped before it got started."

Several baseball bats, beer and liquor were confiscated by deputies at the scene, according to a press release. One person, 19-year old David Russell Honeman, II, of Sleepy Eye, was arrested. Court documents say Honeman is charged with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle and unlawful assembly.

Brown County Sheriff Tim Brennan said deputies are still investigating the incident and are currently unsure of the motive behind the dispute among the students.

Brennan and Brown County Attorney James Olson said they are unsure if more criminal charges will be filed in connection with the incident.

"This hardly happens," Brennan said. "It's unusual for my deputies to be out at something like this."

Brennan said that while some alcoholic beverages were found at the scene, he said he wouldn't categorize Friday night's incident as a "beer party" but rather as a gathering. He said that investigators are mostly concerned with the presence of alcohol at the landing. He said he thinks investigators will better understand what was going on Friday night by the end of this week.