Restraining order issued after incidents

By Dan Nienaber

MANKATO — A 47-year-old Mankato man has been ordered to keep his distance from Congressman Tim Walz after a string of intimidating incidents.

A request for a restraining order by Walz and his wife, Gwen, was filed in Blue Earth County District Court Thursday. It claims the 1st District representative, his staff and his family have been repeatedly harassed by Michael Krasnoff, a man who has been committed to the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center for mental illness several times during the past 15 years.

The incidents started last spring when Krasnoff went to Walz’s downtown Mankato campaign and federal offices and demanded to see the congressman. The actions prompted Walz to report Krasnoff to the U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, D.C.

“On these occasions he made irrational comments to staff and aggressively entered areas of the office space to which he was not invited or welcomed,” the court filing said. “Congressman Walz was not present for these visits, but staff were visibly uncomfortable and Mr. Krasnoff was asked to leave.”

The request for a restraining order was filed, at the recommendation of local law enforcement, after Krasnoff attempted to force his way into the Mankato home of Walz’s sister-in-law, Karrie Duncan, on Aug. 10. Krasnoff thought it was Walz’s Mankato home, according to court documents.

Duncan also filed a request for a restraining order, saying, “Respondent is irrational and it is unclear whether he understands that the congressman doesn’t in fact reside at (this residence).”

A police report was filed locally after that incident. It has not been made public because it was referred to Blue Earth County Human Services.

Krasnoff was last released from the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center in 2001. Court records also show he has changed his name twice since 1996, when he became Michael Andrew Krasnov instead of Michael Andrew Karson. He changed his last name from Krasnov to Krasnoff in 2005.

A city notice, dated with Thursday’s date, is staked in the front yard of his house at 115 Ridgewood Drive. The orange notice says he is in violation of the city’s weed ordinance.

Several shoppers guides and pamphlets were outside his front door, which hedidn’t answer Thursday. He did speak through an open window in the back of the house when a reporter knocked at a door there.

He responded with profanities when he was asked if he wanted to comment about the restraining order.

Employees at HickoryTech also filed a request for a restraining order against Krasnoff in June after a series of incidents that started in April.

That request, which was granted, said Krasnoff was at the main offices frequently. He was asking for free coffee, wanting to attend shareholder meetings and once told an employee to put a brochure in her brassiere and “don’t burn it.”

Krasnoff was ordered to stay at least 50 yards away from the HickoryTech front entrance.

A check of all three names he has used in the past showed Krasnoff hasn’t been convicted of any crimes in Minnesota. He was charged with disorderly conduct in 1994, but the charge was later dismissed. A driving without proof of insurance charge in January also was dismissed after he provided proof he was insured.

Walz released a statement about the restraining order Thursday through spokeswoman Meredith Salsbery.

“At the recommendation of local law enforcement, Congressman Walz recently filed for an order of protection against a constituent who attempted to forcibly enter a home he believed to be the congressman’s residence,” she said. “The congressman, his family and our staff sincerely hope this individual receives the help he needs.”