Son of former Minnesota legislator killed in Madison, Wis.
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
(AP) - A man shot and killed during a fight near the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison was the only son of a former Minnesota legislator.
Austin Bodahl, 23, of Waconia, Minnesota, was shot once in the chest late Tuesday night outside a busy State Street bar. A 31-year-old man is in custody.
Austin Bodahl is the son of former state Rep. Larry Bodahl of Waconia.
Larry Bodahl said his son was not sure what he wanted to do with his life and had gone to Madison two weeks earlier on the spur of the moment.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
"He loved to observe people. He was a vagabond who was exploring himself a little bit."
"He loved to observe people," Larry Bodahl said. "He was a vagabond who was exploring himself a little bit."
Larry Bodahl, a Democrat, represented Waconia from 1991-93, according to the Minnesota Legislature reference library. He is currently the city administrator for Newport, Minnesota.
A high-school dropout, Austin Bodahl had earned a high-school-equivalency degree, worked in a bicycle shop and been in and out of Minneapolis Technical Community College, his father said.
Patrick Garcia, 23, a bouncer at the City Bar, said he was on duty outside that establishment when he witnessed the incident.
An argument broke out among four men sitting on two benches, and two of them began fighting in the street, he said.
Garcia said he heard a series of pops that he initially did not realize were gunshots.
"I honestly thought he was throwing firecrackers at the other guy," Garcia said. "I didn't know he had been shot."
Two of the men started to chase the shooter toward the City Bar, Garcia said. The bouncer said the three men stopped in front of the bar and began to argue and he stepped in to prevent another fight.
Garcia said the shooter told him and another bouncer that he had thrown his gun down an alley off State Street, and the bouncers retrieved the weapon.
John Bradley said Wednesday at Grace Episcopal Church in Madison that Bodahl had spent a couple nights at the shelter there.
Bradley said he worked Tuesday with Bodahl through Labor Force, an employment service that places people in general labor jobs.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
