An Iron Range city councilor who has a “long and contentious history with Minnesota Power” allegedly cut a wire on his property last week, knocking out power to three towns.
Joseph Christopher Vaida, 63, of McKinley, faces three felony charges after reportedly disrupting the utility’s service to the city and neighboring communities of Gilbert and Biwabik.
Vaida, according to a criminal complaint, had demanded Minnesota Power remove the wire from his property a week earlier. He was reportedly arrested near the scene with wire cutters and an ax, while the severed wire was found wrapped in barbed wire “to hinder any attempts to investigate or repair the damage.”
Joseph Christopher Vaida, 63, of McKinley
According to court documents:
A Minnesota Power employee spoke with the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office days before the incident.
The representative said Vaida contacted the company May 12 to complain that he believed a guy wire for a power pole was anchored on his property, outside of an easement, and that the utility had seven days to remove it or he would cut it down.
A guy wire is a tensioned cable that runs diagonally from a freestanding pole to add stability. Minnesota Power indicated the easement had been in place on Vaida’s property since 1990 and that the company was looking into the issue but wouldn’t be able to resolve it within a week.
A sheriff’s deputy spoke with Vaida, who responded: “Nope, they don’t got no time.” He began listing other issues he had with the utility and said he doesn’t “give a s—” because “Monday at noon it’s going down, period.”
The deputy advised Vaida he would be criminally charged if he caused damage to the wire and recommended he resolve the situation in court, to which he replied, “Don’t even go there with me,” and ended the phone call. He then called Minnesota Power to reiterate his demand.
The power was knocked out to the three cities shortly after noon May 19. Crews were able to quickly restore service to Gilbert and Biwabik, but indicated they would not go to Vaida’s McKinley property to fix the pole until he was located. A representative also said the ground around the pole was hazardous and could potentially electrocute anyone who got too close.
Deputies went to Vaida’s home and stopped him driving a pickup truck nearby, finding metal cutters and an ax inside the vehicle.
Minnesota Power employees ensured the area was safe and led a deputy to the cut wire, which was surrounded by “no trespassing” signs and barbed wire. It also appeared there had been recent digging in an attempt to remove the anchor from the ground.
St. Louis County prosecutor Aaron Welch told the court Vaida has engaged in “many instances of intimidating and disorderly conduct toward Minnesota Power employees.”
“The defendant’s behavior presents a clear risk to the safety of the public and Minnesota Power employees,” Welch said. “His entirely needless acts damaged critical infrastructure, causing disruption to the citizens of a significant portion of the community, so say nothing of the risk of harm to himself and starting an additional forest fire.”
Vaida was arraigned last week on charges of damaging utility property, damaging an electric line and first-degree property damage with a foreseeable risk of bodily harm.
Judge Robert Friday set bail at $10,000 with conditions or $50,000 without. Records show he was released on bond after making his initial court appearance Thursday. His next court date was set for June 9.
Vaida was elected to the McKinley City Council with 37 votes in 2018, one of two candidates victorious from a field of three. He was reelected in 2022 with 26 votes; no other names appeared on the ballot, but 52 write-in votes were cast.
McKinley, which is about 8 driving miles east of Virginia, had a population of 103 at the 2020 Census.
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