A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter is facing intense backlash after appearing to minimize the terrifying plane crash involving Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany.
Hope Karnopp, a politics and breaking-news reporter for the Journal Sentinel, posted a map from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office showing the approximate location where Tiffany’s plane made an emergency landing in Lake Wausau.
Karnopp highlighted information stating that Lake Wausau has a maximum depth of 30 feet and an average depth of approximately seven feet.
When questioned about using the word “only” to describe the lake’s maximum depth, Karnopp responded that she was trying “to explain the gravity of the situation,” adding that “30 feet doesn’t seem like much to me.”
After massive outrage erupted online over her blatant disregard for the gravity of a plane crash, Karnopp deleted the original post and attempted to walk back her statements with a classic media cover-up.
“I posted tweets earlier that were misunderstood. I was attempting to point out that the depth of the lake could have caused the plane to hit rocks, creating an even more dangerous situation. I did not mean to imply the depth made the landing less serious. It was the opposite.”
She then attempted to justify the tone-deaf coverage under the guise of “journalism”:
“In a breaking news situation, reporters try to gather as much information as they can. Part of that included details readers might wonder about Lake Wausau, and it was my goal to share initial information that added context to the incident.”
In a breaking news situation, reporters try to gather as much information as they can. Part of that included details readers might wonder about Lake Wausau, and it was my goal to share initial information that added context to the incident.
— Hope Karnopp (@hopekarnopp) September 13, 2026
As The Gateway Pundit reported earlier Sunday, Tiffany was returning from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when the Beechcraft K35 Bonanza lost power on approach to Wausau Downtown Airport. Pilot Leonard E. Boltz, 73, put the aircraft into Lake Wausau.
Tiffany and Boltz called 911 at 8:49 p.m. Saturday as the plane began to submerge, got out, and swam to shallower water. A Wausau Fire Department airboat pulled them off the lake at 9:05 p.m. Tiffany needed 12 stitches above his right eye. Boltz needed four. Both were treated at Aspirus Wausau Hospital and released.
Tiffany wrote on X:
“After landing, we called 911. As the plane began to submerge, we exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area, where we waited until emergency responders reached us by boat. … God was watching over us tonight.”
At a Sunday press conference he became emotional, credited the pilot for raising the landing gear so the plane would not cartwheel, and vowed to “finish the job” of running for governor. The FAA and NTSB are investigating a mechanical problem. The wreckage was still in the lake Sunday.
Hours after the deleted tweets, Karnopp’s name appeared on the Journal Sentinel’s own write-up of the same crash: “Tom Tiffany recounts harrowing plane emergency, swim to safety in Wausau,” by David Clarey and Hope Karnopp. On the newspaper’s page it is “harrowing.” On her personal account it was “only 30 feet.”
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