The publisher of The Lakeland Times has filed a second lawsuit against the owner of Minocqua Brewing Company, according to a Feb. 24, 2025 story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by reporter Mary Spicuzza.
Filed Wednesday, Feb. 19, in Oneida County Circuit Court, the lawsuit accuses Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad of defrauding donors to his super PAC by funneling thousands of dollars to himself and “sham entities” he controls.
In the lawsuit, Gregg Walker and Heather Holmes, the publisher and general manager of the Lakeland Times, also allege that Bangstad violated their privacy by using their images on brewery products or for advertising purposes.
According to the story, Minocqua Brewing began selling “Snowflake Holiday Ale” featuring Walker’s name and image in November. Photographs of the beer included in the filing show a can featuring Walker surrounded by a bright blue snowflake. The company is known for beers named after Democratic figures.
In 2023, Bangstad was found liable for defamation over false claims he made about Walker in social media posts. A jury awarded Walker $750,000 in damages, making it the state’s largest defamation judgment. In that case, the jury found Bangstad had smeared Walker by calling him a “crook” and a “misogynist,” and by claiming in a Facebook post that he had engaged in elder abuse and committed other crimes so that he could inherit the newspaper business. That settlement was later negotiated down to $580,000.
The story also states Bangstad, who was not reached to comment on the story, is also facing a criminal defamation case in Oneida County.
The Feb. 19 suit details years of feuding between Bangstad and Walker; delves into Bangstad’s federal political action committee, the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC and alleges that since it was created in January 2021, the super PAC has spent nearly $2 million, with much of it going to fund “unsuccessful lawsuits,” including one that sought to disqualify President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot in Wisconsin, according to the story.
The lawsuit also accuses Bangstad of using the super PAC to fund “numerous personal legal expenses” and to pay himself for “alleged ‘consulting fees’ through sham entities known as ‘Effervescent Blue’ and ‘NCPS.’”
Matthew Fernholz, the attorney for Walker and Holmes, is quoted in the story as saying, “We look forward to our day in court and proving our claims.”
