Barry Grant, owner, President and CEO of Contour Plastics, with his wife Pam, company Controller. Contour Plastics was recenlty sold to Nolato Group of Torekov, Sweden. The Grants will remain in their management positions with Contour Plastics.
On July 26th, the Nolato Group, based in Torekov, Sweden, announced the acquisition of Baldwin-based Contour Plastics. Contour’s president Barry Grant and members of Contour’s management team will remain in their positions.
“Contour Plastics is a well-managed company, and is a good fit for our growth strategy and our ambition to provide a global offering with regional medical technology production,” said Hans Porat, President and CEO of Nolato.
“This acquisition will give us a presence in the region from Minneapolis to Chicago, one of our four key American medical technology clusters,” said Christer Wahlquist, president of Nolato Medical Business Area. “It also represents a further strengthening of our overall offering, and a foundation on which to establish production in North America.”
Contour’s customers include a number of major American medical technology companies. According to reports, an estimated 80% of Contour’s business is attributable to molding parts for medical device companies. The Nolato Group supplies customers in medical technology, telecom, hygiene, automotive parts and other industrial sectors.
With the acquisition, Contour Plastics will operate as Nolato Contour. Contour was founded in 1990 and has been honored by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce as an Emerging Business of the Year and by St. Croix Economic Development Corporation as a Business of the Year in St. Croix County. Contour was awarded $250,000 in state tax credits in 2007 from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce for a major facility expansion that resulted in the creation of new jobs.
Shots fired in chase, apprehension of suspect
A man who was observed driving away from a development in Hammond that has suffered a rash of recent burglaries and later rammed St. Croix County Sheriff’s squad cars and a Sheriff’s Deputy, has been apprehended after shots were fired early Tuesday morning.
According to a news release from the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department, in custody at Regions Medical Center in St. Paul for treatment of unspecified injuries is Shane Michael Kringen, 37, of Hudson, who has a previous criminal history and is a convicted felon.
The news release stated that at 2:32 a.m. a Hammond police officer saw a “suspicious vehicle leaving the Black Duck Development” in the Village of Hammond. The area has suffered from a “rash of burglaries recently,” the release said. “The Hammond officer initiated a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle for an equipment violation. The suspect vehicle fled from the Hammond officer who discontinued the pursuit a short time later.”
At 2:38 a.m. a St. Croix County deputy sheriff’s officer was driving east on CTH N when the same suspect vehicle from the Hammond incident was traveling west. “The suspect vehicle was traveling without any lights on the vehicle. The deputy was forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision with the suspect vehicle. Deputies then attempted to stop the vehicle, which fled west on CTH N with speeds reaching 80 mph. During the pursuit deputies reported the suspect throwing unknown items from the vehicle.”
The pursuit continued to the 400 block of CTH N where the suspect vehicle slammed on his brakes and then began to ram two St. Croix County squad cars. “At this point one deputy fired several shots at the suspect in defense of himself and his fellow deputy.” The suspect then drove to 644 CTH N into a yard and again rammed a St. Croix County squad car. The suspect then left the vehicle and fled on foot into a woods. He was apprehended by a Sheriff’s K-9.
“The suspect was transported to Hudson Hospital and then Regions” for treatment of his injuries, said the news release. “One deputy sustained injuries as a result of being rammed by the suspect. The deputy was treated and released from Hudson Hospital. “The second deputy was uninjured and has been placed on administrative leave (standard procedure) pending the outcome of the investigation.”
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting portion of the incident.
The news release says deputies are in the process of securing an arrest warrant for felony level charges against the suspect stemming from this incident.
Drowning victim in St. Croix Monday
On Monday of this week at 8:41 p.m., the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office, Hudson Fire Dept., St. Croix EMS and Dive Team, Hudson Police, Wisconsin DNR and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a male who had not resurfaced after jumping off a boat in the St. Croix River. The boat was about 20 feet off shore on the west end of the Dike Road in the City of Hudson.
Before emergency personnel arrived, two bystanders jumped into the water and swam to the area where the male was last seen but they were unable to locate him. Rescue operations were started immediately once emergency personnel were on the scene. The male victim was recovered by members of the St. Croix Dive Team at 9:40 p.m. in about 10-12 feet of water.
The male was taken to the Hudson Medical Center by St. Croix EMS where he was pronounced dead.
The male victim is 38 years old and is from Richfield, Minnesota. The identity of the victim is being withheld at this time pending notification of next of kin.
This incident remains under investigation by the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Croix County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Electric outage planned for Woodville area
EAU CLAIRE, WIS. – Electric service to approximately 1,000 Xcel Energy customers in the village of Woodville will be temporarily interrupted from 2 to 4 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 7. In the event of inclement weather, the outage will be rescheduled for Sunday, Aug. 8, during the same timeframe.
This outage is required to improve the area’s electrical equipment, to ensure safe and reliable power. The outage time may be shorter or longer depending on working conditions.
For additional information, call Xcel Energy Customer Service at 1-800-895-4999.
News from the Exchanges
Interesting items from
surrounding communities
CENTRAL ST. CROIX NEWS: The mission statement of the United Methodist Churches in Hammond and New Centerville presents their desire to help their communities by “Serving God, creation, and people by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with faith, hope and love through worship, education and outreach.” With a new pastor leading them, they will continue to carry out that mission well into the future. Although Pastor Steve Rice has been leading churches for 20 years, he has only been the pastor of the United Methodist Church in Hammond and New Centerville since July1. Rice received his education at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and has led churches throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. While Rice is the new pastor of the congregations in Hammond and New Centerville, he is not new to the church. He has been playing the piano for the church in Hammond, in addition to worshipping with that congregation. Those who know him would probably not be surprised to learn that Pastor Rice is a trained musician, having received his undergraduate degree in music. “I have been playing for worship services at churches and nursing homes for many years,” Rice said recently. While he will be the pastor for both the Hammond and New Centerville congregations, Rice also holds a full-time job at a music store in the Twin Cities area. His schedule keeps him quite busy, but he still intends to fully take on the needs of both congregations.
THE COURIER-WEDGE (DURAND): The Durand school district will lose $332,000 in state funding according to estimates, said district finance manager Sharon Weisenbeck at the monthly Durand board of education meeting July 21. The four percent drop in state equalization aid comes from statewide cuts and district spending habits. Aid is cut when the district spends less than its budget, which it did last year, and when enrollment declines, Weisenbeck explained to the board. To make up for the lost aid, the district must make program cuts. The district has $311,000 to add to its fund balance, Weisenbeck reported. The money, which comes from lower than expected utilities, transportation costs, equipment purchases, overall operating expenses and surplus from last year’s budget, could be used to offset some of the lost aid, she said. Board member Katie Garrett suggested putting more than two-thirds of the money toward retirement benefits and the rest toward future operating costs. The board voted unanimously to follow Garrett’s proposal.
AMERY FREE PRESS: Tara J. Brabant, 30, Amery was arrested Sunday, July 25, after a Polk county sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to 60th St. for a who father had had been stabbed by his daughter and a verbal argument was in progress. Upon arrival, the deputy spoke with Tara Brabant who admitted stabbing her father, Mark W. Brabant, in the shoulder earlier in the afternoon after a verbal argument between the two of them. Brabant stated she and her mother were arguing about a money issue, at which point her father stepped into the conversation and began arguing. Brabant stated at this point her father grabbed a knife out of a drawer and lunged at her. She stated she made the comment to him, “Why don’t you kill yourself,” and he replied, “Why don’t you me kill yourself.” Mark Brabant then told Tara to stab him and she did - in the shoulder. A subsequent report showed that a Polk county sheriff’s deputy was also dispatched to the scene and Tara Brabant’s mother advised the deputy that Tara had told her father she wished he was dead and Mark had handed Tara a knife and said, “Kill me.” Mark Brabant stated that he was cut by a nail while working on the house - the deputy believed he was not being cooperative.
WOODVILLE LEADER: Sometimes if you do good things long enough, someone is going to notice, and that’s exactly what happened for Kathy Spence of Spring Valley. On May 20, Kathy learned that she was selected at the Special Olympics Wisconsin Indianhead Area Agency Manager of the Year. According to a press release from Special Olympics - Wisconsin, “This award is given each year to an Agency Manager who best displays the leadership and organizational skills needed to manage a well run special Olympics Program.” Kathy was nominated by Andrea Sullivan and Patti Knez who are the Regional Directors of northwestern Wisconsin. “Kathy is great at making sure her athletes have a wonderful experience when they compete. They are well trained, placed in divisions where they belong, and are always eager to participate,” said Knez.
RIVER FALLS JOURNAL: A 20-year-old River Falls man is jailed and charged with setting fire to rolls of hay inside a 3,200 square-foot storage shed at the UW-River Falls Lab Farm No. 1 after midnight on Friday. The blaze destroyed the shed and 312 hay rolls. Each roll weighs 800-900 pounds. Thirty-two of those rolls were described as “research hay’ belonging to the University of Minnesota. UW-RF officials put the total loss - hay and shed at $85,000. Christopher D. Pixley, faces a Class C felony charge for arson of a building. He appeared in Pierce County Court Monday and was ordered held on $1,000 cash bond.
