A 34-year-old Ladysmith woman was charged recently in connection with her actions committed during a late night Rusk County Board closed session meeting on Aug. 26.
The charge was outlined in a Sept. 18, 2025 story in the Ladysmith News. According to the story:
Stephanie Christianson attended and spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. Of the two closed sessions on the agenda, Christianson was accused of eavesdropping for the session convented “for the purpose of considering employment and performance information in regard to the county administrative coordinator” who is Christianson’s cousin.
The allegation occurred as a result of an anonymous open records request for a video recording of the Law Enforcement Center where the meeting occurred between 7 p.m Aug. 26 and 1 a.m. on Aug. 27.
The video allegedly shows Christianson recording the closed meeting from the LEC lobby.
A county information technology staffer, who requested the video, provided a copy of the video to Sheriff Phil Grassmann because of the closed session recording violation.
The criminal complaint against Christianson provides a detailed description of the three-hour video segment. In the video, Christianson repeatedly puts her ear next to the board room door, then places her cellphone next to the door, and places the phone next to her ear to listen. She is also observed sitting on the floor, placing her phone next to the door and placing her ear to the door.
Just before the closed session ended, Christianson quickly moved to sit in the lobby chairs.
Investigator Steve Gronski interviewed Christianson, who admitted that attempting to hear what was being said in closed session was complicated by a nearby noisy soda pop machine. She said she used her phone to enhance the audio.
If convicted of the Class H Felony and sentenced to the maximum allowable sentences, Christianson will be imprisoned for up to six years and be fined $10,000.
