Newsle er Wri en By: Captain Jon Lentz
The Front Row ”A front row seat to the greatest show on Earth…” June 2021: Volume 5, Issue 13
Steve Soyka—Sheriff Dan Miller—Chief Deputy
Photo courtesy of Google
On Wednesday, June 16, Deputy Steve Romstad responded to a burglary complaint at The Landing, a bar and restaurant
located on Pelican Lake in Avon Township. The owner had arrived at the business to find a glass door had been broken and
access was gained to the business. The closing employee had le the bar the night before around 11:00 p.m. and locked up.
When the owner arrived the following morning and found the broken door, he also found that the previous day’s ll
receipts had been opened and gone through as well. The items taken were three money bags that contained approximately
$6,400 in cash. Deputy Romstad was unable to locate an object on scene that was
used to break the window to gain entry, so it’s probable that the thief brought the
object with, used it, and le with it. As we like to say, “No other objects foreign to
the scene” were located. That is cop talk for, we didn’t find anything that we might
be able to test for DNA. The Landing is, however, equipped with a video
surveillance system. Deputy Romstad contacted our inves ga ve division, and they
are working to retrieve and view the video from the system’s hard drive. In all
probability the suspect or suspects walked past a least one camera. While picture
quality can some mes be an issue, we hope to gain some informa on that will help
the inves gators iden fy the party or par es responsible and apprehend them. If
anyone has any informa on on this burglary or may have heard something we
would ask that you call our office at 320‐259‐3702 and ask for an inves gator.
On June 12 around 7:00 a.m., a couple of gents were out for a morning bike ride on Caisson Rd. in Maine Prairie Township.
Around this same me, Deputy Aaron Wells, who had just begun his shi , was also driving on Caisson Rd. It was early and
I’m not sure how much coffee Deputy Wells had consumed yet, but I’m sure the sight he encountered made him do a
double take. The two bikers drove past Deputy Wells being pursued by a donkey that was doing its best to try and keep up
with the pace they were se ng. Being familiar with the area, Deputy Wells stopped by the farm that he thought the
befuddled burro had absconded from. The owner indicated that it was probably his and Deputy Wells le to see if he could
locate the cri er again. Just a er leaving the driveway, he was met by the bicyclists who were returning to the area, donkey
in tow. The photo was captured from Deputy Wells’ squad camera system. I have reviewed the en re video and it’s pre y
funny watching the bikers and donkey rounding a curve at a pre y good clip coming back towards Deputy Wells. The owner
was handy on the road and was able to corral the runaway back into his pasture. We are used to responding to animal com‐
plaints, being a sheriff’s office and all. However, those calls
typically involve loose cows or deer versus car encounters. Every once
in a while, you get that unique call, kind of like Deputy Paul Orvis and
his emu adventure a couple of years ago. Rest assured, I did do my best
to try and work in a reference to the movie Shrek in this ar cle, I just
couldn’t think of anything. I also thought about making a reference to
field goal kicking, but it turns out the main character in that movie was
a mule. To answer the next ques on you may have, yes, I did see that
movie in a theater, and yes, I am that old. Well, donkey made it home
safely and Deputy Wells went off in search of his next adventure. Cyclists and Their New Donkey Friend
Sha ered Pa o Door
Newsle er Wri en By: Captain Jon Lentz
It’s summer me, so let’s talk baseball. Okay, most of you readers know I don’t really follow the Minnesota Twins. I did see
one headline that said that a er a short improvement the Twins pitching staff had reverted to form. Is that good news? I do
also follow Gopher Volleyball. Two of their be er seniors are returning for an addi onal year, good news there. Right now,
my main sports pas me has been roo ng for the Montreal Canadiens and hopefully a series win over the Las Vegas Knights.
Go Habs! Friday morning update: Canadiens Win!
Speaking of good news about returning team members, Dispatcher Leah Held took a call on Sunday, June 13th from a
distraught mother. Her young child was choking on a grape and she called 911. Dispatcher Held was able to give instruc ons
over the phone for the mother to give the Heimlich maneuver to her child. It was successful and the grape was dislodged.
Dispatcher Held received a life‐saving award last month also for providing Heimlich instruc ons that were successful on
another call. Well done, Leah!
Not sure what’s going on, but we took more than our usual dumping complaints last week. I don’t know about you, but it was
awful hot for me to be even thinking about cleaning a garage or any other spot, loading the items up, and finding a spot to
illegally dump them. On the 18th Deputy Adam Wood responded to a loca on in St. Augusta where a sofa, two recliners and
other smaller items were dumped on private property. The two other calls were on the 23rd. Deputy Sco Romstad took a
call, also in St. Augusta, about garbage that had been disposed of in a local business’s dumpster. He was able to locate some
names and addresses in the trash and followed up with the par es. They said they had made a mistake and thought the
dumpster belonged to the gas sta on they were at. That being said, I’m not sure gas sta ons intend for you to dispose of
your unwanted Amazon boxes in their trash bins or dumpsters. The third call on the 23rd was in Ge y
Township. Deputy Shirley Zwack took the report of what was essen ally kitchen waste, dumped in the
ditch. No doubt, this is certainly not the most exci ng content for our newsle er, but perhaps some
public exposure might deter other folks from doing the same. Remember, one can always be given a
court reminder for this type of ac vity.
On June 21, Deputy Aaron Wells took a the complaint at a gravel pit
in Crow Lake Township. The caller was repor ng that all the electrical
cords had been cut off of the four conveyors at this loca on. The me
frame for this the is long, about four weeks. The owner es mated
that there was approximately 800 feet of cord that was removed from
the conveyors. In case you are wondering what they do with these cords, they typically burn
the cord to remove everything and retain the copper for recycling.
On June 23rd, Deputy Zach Milne took a burglary complaint at Harvest Church in Freeport.
Some me since the previous Saturday some ne’er‐do‐well had broken into a shed on the property and stole several items.
The thieves took a S hl weed wacker, a ba ery jump pack, and several other smaller hand tools. Stealing things is never
good. One has to wonder, though, if stealing from a church is evidence of some level of increased ne’er‐do‐wellness? As
always, if you know anything about any of the crimes noted here, please call our office at 320‐259‐3702.
Gravel Conveyors
Cut Power Cords
The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office
staff would like to welcome and congratulate the following.
Adam Tough, Correc onal Officer II, who started June 18
Andrew LaBarre, Correc onal Officer II, who started June 21
Cory Bengston, Promoted to Sergeant‐Campus Deputy, June 11
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