Disciplined DNR employee had won leadership award

MADISON - A state Department of Natural Resources employee disciplined for harassing female co-workers at a Milwaukee hotel had previously won the agency’s wildlife management leadership award.

The agency initially refused to release details of the January incident, saying people make mistakes. DNR officials reconsidered and released nearly 20 pages of documents Wednesday after the Associated Press challenged that rationale.

The documents identify the employee as Harvey Halvorsen, a Baldwinbased wildlife supervisor and winner of the 2017 DNR wildlife management leadership award.

Witnesses told DNR investigators that Halvorsen was “sloppy drunk” in a hospitality suite at the Hilton Hotel in Milwaukee on the evening of Jan. 28, the night before the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference. Witnesses said he was drinking beer out of an ice bucket, saying, “Is this like the ice bucket challenge? We can call it the beer challenge.”

One female DNR worker said Halvorsen stared at her chest although he didn’t say anything that made her feel uncomfortable. Another female DNR worker said she thought Halvorsen said something about her breasts. The women’s names were redacted from the documents.

During an interview with DNR investigators, Halvorsen acknowledged he had been drinking from an ice bucket but didn’t remember interacting with any women.

DNR officials ultimately suspended Halvorsen for a day without pay in March. He didn’t immediately reply to an email and a voicemail message left for him Wednesday at the DNR’s Baldwin service center.