A change in the judge will result in changing the date for three Kewaunee County men alleged to have improperly spread manure in Kewaunee County. Last week, farmer Johannes Wakker, manure hauler Greg Stodola, and agronomist Benjamin Koss were charged with conspiring to commit a crime, discharging liquid manure into state waterways, and falsifying written records related to the farm’s nutrient management plan. The complaint alleges Stodola far exceeded the manure spread on his farmland in late 2019. The amount so far exceeded what Wakker’s permit allowed, resulting in pollution discharges into tributaries leading to Lake Michigan with E. Coli bacteria readings as much as 100 times that would result in the closure of a public beach. The DOJ complaint further states that Stodola created a document that grossly underreported the manure spread by over 1.9 million gallons. Days after being charged with the crimes, Stodola, Koss, and Wakker asked for a new judge to be assigned to the case being tried in Kewaunee County. Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Wisnicky was Kewaunee County’s corporation counsel for separate cases against Wakker in February 2019 and February 2020. Door County Circuit Court Judge David Weber is now assigned to the case, and the new date for the initial appearance is February 1st, 2023.