KNEESKERN, Mark Dean 'Eyeball' 1972 - 2014
KNEESKERN, PETERSON, CARTER, DUNNIGAN, WELCH, ROWLAND
Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 9/13/2014 at 22:27:09
"The Fairfield Ledger"
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Front PageMan dies after being hit by train
by Andy Hallman, Ledger news editorA person died after being struck by a train passing through Fairfield Sunday morning, according to a press release from the Fairfield Police Department.
The indicent occurred at 4:15 a.m. An employee of Burlington Northern -- Santa Fe Railroad called 911 to report a train had hit someone on the railroad tracks in the Fairfield city limits. Emergency crews responded to the Ninth Street crossing.
The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of kin.
Fairfield Police Capt. David Thomas said authorities do not know why the man was on the railroad tracks. He said they are waiting for the blood test to determine if there were any foreign substances in his system at the time, and that that process could take three to six weeks.
Thomas said the employees on the train witnessed the incident and they are being interviewed about what they saw. He said the conductor pressed the emergency break (sic) but it takes trains so long to slow down that it wasn't able to slow down soon enough to avoid hitting the man on the tracks. Thomas said the victim was not in a vehicle or on a bicycle and appeared to be on foot.
The Ledger will publish more information on this event as it becomes available.
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"The Fairfield Ledger"
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Front PageIdentity of man killed by train released
The man who was hit and killed by a train in Fairfield Sunday morning has been identified as Mark Dean KNEESKERN, 42, of West Des Moines.
The Fairfield Police Department is seeking information about KNEESKERN's whereabouts during his visit to Fairfield in order to establish a timeline of his activities. The police can be reached at 472-4146.
An employee of Burlington Northern - Santa Fe Railroad called 911 at 4:15 a.m. Sunday to report a train had hit someone on the railroad tracks in the Fairfield city limits. Emergency crews responded to the Ninth Street crossing.
Fairfield Police Capt. David Thomas said authorities do not know why KNEESKERN was on the railroad tracks. He said they are waiting for the blood test to determine if there were any foreign substances in his system at the time, and that that process could take three to six weeks.
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"The Fairfield Ledger"
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Front PageMan who died from train was on book tour
by Nicole Hester-Williams
Ledger staff writerKNEESKERN read at the Orpheum Theater Satureday
Authorities are still determining why Mark "Eyeball" KNEESKERN, the author of "The Last American Hitch-Hiker, Tales of Wander," was on the railroad tracks after his performance and book reading at the Orpheum Theater Saturday in Fairfield.
Most of what is known is the author, who was also a columnist for the Big Bend Gazette in Terlingua, Texas, died after being struck by a train in Fairfield early Sunday morning.
According to his website, www.americaneyeball.com , KNEESKERN called his book "the biggest, broadest project I've ever undertaken." He said he spent 10 years researching, compiling stories and living the life of a hitchhiker, adding that the nonfictional account could also double as his journal.
"I know I'm not really the last hitchhiker, but it sure feels like it," he said.
KNEESKERN, who also illustrated his book, said his ambition for writing it was to raise awareness about the basic kindness of humanity.
"I hear all kinds of stories about how people giving with no expectation of anything in return [except] some worthwhile conversation."
Kristian Day, operator of the Orpheum Theater, who lives in Des Moines, said he's pretty sure the accident was not a suicide.
"He must have tripped and bumped his head and fell on the tracks," he said.
Day met KNEESKERN in Des Moines in 2011, and described the author as a very "gentle man" and a "down-to-earth guy" who lived a good life.
"He was a guy who had a great lifestlye: the American Dream is different for everybody, he was living his American Dream. He was just doing his thing."
Day booked KNEESKERN at the Orpheum. He said he spoke to him while he was in Fairfield, hearing only positive reports about KNEESKERN's time here.
"He said, 'I never knew there was a place like this in my back pocket, right here in the Midwest,'" Day said.
Day said that on the night of his death, KNEESKERN interacted with a lot of people in Fairfield. He said that after his performance, the author attended a barbecue at someone's home and then wrapped up the evening at The Arbor Bar, which he left around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
"He told me that he had a good time, and that he interacted with so many people," Day said. "It's just a bad thing for me to hear that a friend of mine died in Fairfield - I feel slightly responsible," he said, adding that the whole situation was very surreal.
KNEESKERN was born in 1972 in Audubon. After graduating from high school, he attended Iowa State University in Ames and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995.
Traveling quite a bit, KNEESKERN was a sort of snowbird, living in Texas during the winter months while traveling to Colorado for the summer. Every fall, he hitchhiked across country to the Midwest to visit family and friends in Des Moines before heading west again for winter.
His obituary described him as someone who "lived every day to the fullest and enjoyed peaceful, quiet times as well as crazy, loud celebrations."
"I only knew Mark briefly, but the conversations we had together left a mighty imprint. I have said many times that he made me question how I was living my life," Day said. "It's not that I wanted to hitchhike or live off the land myself, but Mark lived his life enjoying the things he loved; If you can find a way to surround yourself each day with all the things that make you happy, then you have lived a fantastic life."
In his final performance at the Orpheum, KNEESKERN regaled his audience with a folk song about the Midwest.
For more information or to view KNEESKERN's last performance visit www.bigbendgazette.com .
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"The Fairfield Ledger"
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Front PageNo evidence of suicide in train death
Local law enforcement have completed their investigation into the death of a man killed by a train Aug. 31 in Fairfield and have found no evidence to indicate it was either a homicide or a suicide.
Mark "Eyeball" Dean KNEESKERN, 42, of Terlingua, Texas, was killed when a passing Burlington Northern Santa Fe train struck him near the Ninth Street crossing early on the morning of Aug. 31. According to a press release issued today by the Fairfield Police Department, employees on the train saw KNEESKERN lying face-up on the ground, partially resting on the south track. The employees immediately activated the train's emergency braking system and honked its horn repeatedly. KNEESKERN did not respond to these warnings and did not appear to move.
"There is no evidence, at this time, to explain why Mr. KNEESKERN was in this position at the location," the press release stated.
Police officers uncovered no evidence to suggest KNEESKERN was involved in any altercations before his death.
"All witnesses advised he was friendly and happy during contact they had with him that night," the press release stated.
The only evidence that could possibly explain KNEESKERN's death was his high blood alcohol content that night. The press release stated his blood alcohol content was significantly high but the autopsy found no other drugs in his system.
The police have fielded numerous calls inquiring as to whether the town's quiet zone played a rold in KNEESKERN's death. Under the quiet zone, trains are asked not to honk their horns unless they see an obstruction on the tracks or construction is taking place.
"It was documented during the investigation that BNSF Railway personnel repeatedly activated the same horn used at intersections immediately after detecting the dangerous situation. For an undetermined reason, Mr. KNEESKERN did not respond to these warnings," the press release read.
The railroad tracks are considered private property. The public is allowed to cross the tracks at the designated crossing areas, but is now allowed in any area other than the crossing areas. Persons traveling outside the designated crossing areas are trespassing and may be issued a criminal citation or arrested.
The press release stated the police department was appreciative of the help it received from KNEESKERN's family and friends. Agencies that assisted in the investigation are the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner, the Jefferson County Attorney's Office, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and Midwest Ambulance Service.
*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.
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Note: In the photo below, Mark KNEESKERN picks at his "gut bucket" while playing with Lupe Balazo during Brewers Rendezvous in July 2013 in Salida, Colorado. KNEESKERN was killed in an incident involving a BNSF train Sunday in Fairfield.
Also: From the Big Bend Gazette, his obituary provided by his sister Sara notes that Mark was born July 10, 1972, to parents Laurice PETERSON KNEESKERN and Cloy KNEESKERN. When hitchhiking for the first time he met the love of his life, Shannon CARTER, who survives him. Also surviving are his mother Laurice, of MN; his siblings Gary of MN, Sheri DUNNIGAN of WA, Dave of IA, Sara WELCH of IL, and Beth of IA; nieces and nephews Trista (Adam) ROWLAND (children McKenzie and Carson), Tommy and Katie WELCH, and Annie KNEESKERN. His father Cloy preceded him in death. Services were held Saturday, September 13, 2014, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Big Springs, MN, with interment in Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery on Windy Ridge in Fillmore Co., MN.
Jefferson Obituaries maintained by Joey Stark.
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