6/17/2024

MINOCQUA - The owner of the Minocqua Brewing Company is facing further legal troubles. A Wisconsin circuit court judge has ruled Kirk Bangstad in contempt of court for failing to appear at a court-ordered hearing. In order to avoid a jail sentence, the judge offered the opportunity to fulfill certain requirements. Bangstad would have to pay just over $6,600 in attorney’s fees by the 23rd, and if he misses the deadline, an additional fine of $200 a day until the full fine is paid. He must also appear and provide all tax returns and financial statements for himself and his business from 2019 to 2023, along with a list of any assets he or his business holds and those that have been sold since 2020. The judge ruled that during the examination of those documents by commissioner Patrick Finlan, Bangstad would not be allowed to invoke his 5th Amendment right unless he states that is doing so upon advice of counsel. If Bangstad fails to comply with any of those requirements, he’ll have to serve four months in jail.