Ken Halverson

If Grandma's in Heaven, Watch Out!: the 1930's Bonrud Gang Ken Halverson

This is a true Minnesota crime story set in the 1930's. Its about a very prolific gang that performed over 63 car jackings, kidnappings and armed holdups. It was a seven member gang. It had 4 men and 3 women. Two of the men had served time in the St Cloud Prison for larceny and armed robbery. They were the seed that started the gang by enlisting family members. They were eventually caught after going through several salvoes of gun fire. They were arrested and held in the Chippewa County jail. Here they had to sober up from a long drinking binge and face the fact that they were now in the hands of the law, but any slip up could land them in the face of a hanging party. The Chippewa County Sheriff was worried that the gangs friends and relatives might try a rescue attempt while in Montevidio and the Chief of Police in Benson was afraid of a lynch mob when the gang was transported to Benson for trial. This book begins with the author's explanation of gang activity and growth over the decades and explains how the prohibition and depression affected the WW1 Doughboys after the end of the war. It tells of the gangs' real cheerleader and antagonist and how she ruined the lives of her daughter and nearly ruined the lives of her grandchildren. My grandparents were members of the Bonrud Gang, and my grandma was their cheerleader. This is their story.