Audio Burnell Hanson was Mark Roidt's boss Sharing a shrinking wilderness (Midday 11/24/04) Photos Roidt's tombstone Rice Lake Mayor Larry Jarvela More from MPR Of crime and culture (11/25/2004) Who is Chai Vang? (11/24/2004) Self-defense a tough sell in Vang case, law experts say (11/24/2004) Man arrested for deer-stand shooting says he was fired on first; Hmong leaders condemn shooting (11/23/2004) Hunting deaths spur concern about backlash (11/23/2004) Hunter kills six, wounds two after tree-stand dispute (11/22/2004) Respond to this story Talk about this story in the MPR News Forum Submit a commentary Help us cover this story

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Somber town remembers one of six slain deer hunters
by Stephanie Hemphill, Minnesota Public Radio
November 26, 2004

Mark Roidt, 28, of Rice Lake was killed in a confrontation with a St. Paul man, who had apparently trespassed on property. (MPR Photo/Tom Scheck-Stephanie Hemphill)

The first of six hunters killed in northern Wisconsin last weekend was buried on Friday. Mark Roidt was part of a hunting party that confronted a St. Paul hunter who was allegedly trespassing on private property.

Dobie, Wisc. — Mark Roidt was only 28 years old. Friends describe him as always laughing, fun to be around, fond of kids. He loved outdoor sports. He went with friends to races, truck pulls, he rode a motorcycle.

He worked for Burnell Hanson, installing floors. Hanson last saw him just before the hunting trip last weekend.

	Rice Lake Mayor Larry Jarvela

"He was playing with my grandson. He only worked with us for three months, but he was just so great," Hanson said Friday.

On Sunday, Mark Roidt and five friends were shot to death during a confrontation with another hunter. A survivor of the incident from Roidt's party told investigators the St. Paul hunter, Chai Vang, was asked to leave a deer stand on private property. As he was leaving, Vang allegedly turned and started firing on the other hunters. Vang - who is in custody, but not yet charged, in Hayward - says he fired after someone from the hunting party fired first.

Friends and family said goodbye to Mark Roidt during a mass at a small stone church, tucked into farm fields in Dobie, just outside Rice Lake. The cemetery is shaded by white pines and cedar trees. Mark Roidt now lies beside his father, beneath a gravestone decorated with a scene of a lake with a deer and birch trees.

The church was packed; among the mourners were the two friends who were wounded but survived Sunday's shooting.

Rice Lake Mayor Larry Jarvela says for people here, the reality hasn't really sunk in. He says in this small town, everyone knows everyone else - especially the large Crotteau family.

"Things like this don't happen here, we've had one homicide in Rice Lake in the last 20 years, the Crotteau name, there are 200 people here, shirttail relatives with all of them," Jarvela said.

Jarvela says plans are already underway to rename a city park for the victims.

"We've got 10 or 11 parks in town, we'll probably call it hunters park, if nothing else plant the trees as a memorial."

Hunting is important around here. For a lot of people it's a favorite time of year; a time to spend with family and friends in the hunting shack, a time to enjoy nature.

Hunters like snow on the ground; it helps them track they prey. Last weekend there was no snow, and people weren't having much luck. Now the snow is falling. But for a lot of people, the joy is gone from this year's hunt. There are too many funerals to go to.

Funerals for three of the hunters are scheduled for Saturday; another is on Monday.

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