November 2023 Newsletter (Volume 9, Issue 11)

November 2023 Newsletter (Volume 9, Issue 11)

Please click on the title below to view each of the different stories in the newsletter.

DARE Instructor School Graduation

Deputy Tristan Severson graduated from DARE instructor school earlier this month, with former Dover-Eyota School Resource Officer Todd Peterson in attendance. Deputy Severson was also voted class spokesperson by his peers. He is looking forward to his first year teaching DARE to Dover-Eyota 6th graders later this school year.

DARE is substance abuse prevention education and much more. This year, millions of schoolchildren around the world will benefit from DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence.

DARE was founded in 1983 and has proven so successful that it has been implemented in thousands of schools throughout the United States and many other countries. DARE is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.

Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office has one other DARE Officer in service; Deputy Courtney Amos at Stewartville Schools.

Fall Awards Program

Captain Samantha Reps

On Thursday, October 5th,  the Sheriff’s Office celebrated their bi-annual awards ceremony. During the ceremony several new employees and promoted staff publicly took their oath of office and had family members pin on their badges. There were also several Sheriff’s Office staff that received letters of recognition, life saving awards and a memorial presentation. In addition to the Sheriff’s Office staff there were Rochester Police Officers and several civilians who also received recognition.

We are excited for the opportunity to welcome new members of our office, recognize the good work of existing members and recognize others in our community who make doing our jobs easier by their courageous and selfless acts.

Certificates of Appointment

Corey Leighton - Deputy Sheriff - March 27, 2023

Casey Pahl - Deputy Sheriff - March 27, 2023

Tanner Long - Detention Deputy - June 5, 2023

Kasandra Sanders - Detention Deputy - June 5, 2023

Michael Diercks - Deputy Sheriff - August 14, 2023

Riley Sammon - Deputy Sheriff - August 14, 2023

Alex Olson - Training Center Tech - August 28, 2023

Certificates of Promotion

Ryan Mangan - Captain - April 10, 2023

Malinda Hanson - Lieutenant - April 10, 2023

Jens Dammen - Lieutenant - April 10, 2023

Heather Johns - Sergeant - April 10, 2023

Adam Rinn - Sergeant - April 10, 2023

Zach Wagner - Sergeant - April 10, 2023

Sean Cooper - Detective - April 10, 2023

Joel Johnson - Detective - April 10, 2023

Kevin Schmidt - Corporal - April 10, 2023

Nick Heimer - Corporal - April 24, 2023

Letters of Recognition

Courtney Amos

Mary Mauseth

Life Saving Awards

Richard Alexander

Jason Bade

Teri Dose

Crystal Ebert

Tsigereda Fecadu

Trevor Hanson

Nathan Heeren

Tyler Heiden

Rodney Moen

Jason Owen

Geoffrey Stevens

Steven Thompson

Dustin Wehrs

Jeffrey Zabel

Memorial Presentation

Nick Heimer

Linda Stevens to Retire

Sergeant Brady Wolhart

1993. The year of Jurassic Park’s movie release, the fall of Pablo Escobar, President Clinton being sworn into office, Sleepless in Seattle premiered, “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston topped the Billboard charts and our own Linda Stevens starting her career in Olmsted County as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff.  As a Reserve Deputy, she patrolled the county, took calls, made arrests, and helped with Saturday morning warrant sweeps.  One of her most memorable calls involved a drive by shooting in the Oronoco area where she was the primary Deputy handling the investigation and did her first ever interviews with victims and witnesses that night.  She maintained friendships with many of her coworkers from that job and some are lifelong friends. Another experience she will never forget was the time she forgot her gun in a lockbox in the Ramsey County jail and needing to drive all the way back to get it.  For those of you in law enforcement who are reading this, you all know that feeling! 

Linda left Olmsted County in 2004 for the private sector, returning in 2010 as the Sheriff’s Office Transport Coordinator.  Linda hit the ground running and made the position into what it is today: Coordinating DOC prison transports, interstate detainers, writs of habeas corpus for court appearances, warrant pickups, extraditions, ADC medical appointments, trips to and from jails across the State of Minnesota including surrounding states through the NW Shuttle program, and a variety of other things on a daily basis inside the Government Center. Over the years she has made friends and contacts in a multitude of law enforcement and corrections agencies and represented Olmsted County in a positive way.

In speaking with Linda about this article, I asked her about what she will miss most from her career.  It should come as no surprise she responded with, the people she worked with.  She had good working relationships with several Captains and Sergeants over the years and kept the Transport Division running smoothly as staff rotated in and out.  Obviously, the next question was, what will she NOT miss?  DRIVING A HALF HOUR TO WORK IN THE DARK WITH SNOW AND ICE was her answer. Her plans for retirement will include a heavy dose of golf, traveling to warm climates with beaches and cold beverages, and spending time with her family.

A huge thank you to you Linda from the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office and from me personally for your years of hard work, dedication, and answering my multitude of questions.  It’s truly not going to be the same around here and you had better keep inviting me to come play golf with you and Dave. Congratulations on your retirement.  You earned it.

De-Escalation Training for Community Groups and Organizations

Chief Deputy James Schueller and Megan Schueller, LPCC, conducted CIT Training for The Landing, Warming Shelter, Dorothy Day staff and others. Because of the mix of organizations, there was great discussion amongst the group about the fact that while they represented different entities, their goals are the same and it allowed for networking and idea sharing that will only benefit all of them moving forward.

Chief Deputy Schueller noted that it was beneficial to him as well to hear things from their perspective and see how we all really do work together toward common goals. One of the attendees said it best; “We are a community of people working together to help those in need.”

Rudy Naul, Senior Shelter Program Manager noted that attendees truly appreciated the presentation and the opportunity to discuss crisis intervention and de-escalation. He also noted they’re hoping for additional training.

Toward Zero Deaths Recognition

Olmsted County Sheriff's Office members were awarded Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety
Challenge Coins for their outstanding leadership and commitment to the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) mission at the October 3rd Board Meeting. Those receiving recognition included: Media Development Specialist Kyle Bradt, Deputy Chris Streed, Sheriff Kevin Torgerson and TZD Coordinator/Intelligence Analyst Michelle Ness.

Dates of Interest

November 1

Dover City Council Meeting

November 5

Pleasant Grove Township Meeting

Quincy Township Meeting

Rochester City Council Meeting

November 6

Elmira Township Meeting

High Forest Township Meeting

Oronoco Township Meeting

November 7

Olmsted County Board Meeting

Salem Township Meeting

November 8

Eyota City Council Meeting

Rochester Township Meeting

November 12

Cascade Township Meeting

Chatfield City Council Meeting

Orion Township Meeting

Rock Dell Township Meeting

November 13

Byron City Council Meeting

Marion Township Meeting

New Haven Township Meeting

Stewartville City Council Meeting

November 19

Eyota Township Meeting

Kalmar Township Meeting

Rochester City Council Meeting

November 20

Pine Island City Council Meeting

November 21

Farmington Township Meeting

Haverhill Township Meeting

Olmsted County Board Meeting

Oronoco City Council Meeting

November 22

Eyota City Council Meeting

Olmsted County Fire Meeting

Olmsted County Township Assoc Meeting

November 26

Chatfield City Council Meeting

Dover Township Meeting

Viola Township Meeting

November 27

Byron City Council Meeting

Stewartville City Council Meeting

Senior Administration

Sheriff Kevin Torgerson

Chief Deputy—LEC
Brian Howard

Captains
Jon Jacobson
Kelly Lee
Ryan Mangan
Tim Parkin
Chris Wallace

Executive Assistant
Laura Collins

Chief Deputy—ADC
James Schueller

Captains
David Adams
Samantha Reps
Macey Tesmer