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The extended arm of local law enforcement
He also noted that the department still handles its own calls, and for the most part heads up its own investigations — unless something severe like a shooting or death calls for resources from the county or the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Unlike other small departments, Skillestad also explained that Blooming Prairie never puts the county or another agency on call which would otherwise mean that, for a period of time, all incidents in the community would be referred directly to the sheriff’s of ce or another outside department.
In addition to bringing state patrol and a number of traf c-related incidents to town, Blooming Prairie’s location along a busy freeway has contributed to another trend in recent years — an increase in the number of drug-related calls Skillestad said his department is encountering.
“We’re seeing more and more calls because of the drugs that travel to every city — we’re not exempt. We’ve got Highway 218 that parallels Interstate 35 going north and south,” he explained.
Blooming Prairie Police Of cer Dan Peach assists 9-year-old Ashton Little in picking out a winter coat as part of the Salvation Army’s 2016 Shop with a Cop program. (Press le photo) Last year, Skillestad noted that the agency saw roughly 2,500 incidents. Lang said that this number has been stable for the past four or ve years and is managed now by four full-time and ve part-time of cers. For a community the size of Blooming Prairie, both Lang and Skillestad noted this number was unusual — but Lang added that the town is also in a unique situation. “We’re a small city, but we’re different than a lot of small cities.We have a lot of industries. We’re a working community — people live here, they work here, they go to school here. A lot of small communities, they don’t have the school system, they don’t have the manufacturing infrastructure, they don’t have the jobs — they’re more bedroom communities,” he explained. “We’re fortunate to be able to bring additional people on so we can cover our vacation and sick days,” added Skillestad. “People look at us as a small department and a small city, but some small cities only have one full-time of cer and the rest are part-time.” Again, the chief mentioned the freeway, adding that often, he’ll pull drivers over who are commuting from the Twin Cities to Austin or vice versa. Skillestad also noted that, for the town’s Independence Day celebration every summer, its population grows exponentially and his staff are all asked to be on duty. Attendance for the “Old Fashioned Fourth of July” typically brings between 20,000 and 30,000 people to town. “I’d been here 17 years or so, and had never had a Fourth of July off,” recalled Lang. “Greg and I were talking one day and he jokingly said, ‘Yeah, you can have the day off.’ I immediately booked an airline ticket to leave town, and I told him I was out of here and he was like, ‘Really? I was kind of kidding.’” “He deserved it!” laughed Skillestad. With two schools in town, the chief added that the department also has a working relationship with the district. During the winter, he’ll frequently be on hand to help watch over late starts and, on a more personal level, will sometimes stop by to eat in the cafeteria. “We all have kids in school, so it’s not uncommon for us to go to school and have lunch and sit with the kids at lunchtime,” added Lang. “Granted, it may be that we’re sitting with our own kid.” “My boy says, ‘I’ll see you at home,’” laughed Skillestad, “so I’m talking to the other kids, having a cheeseburger.”
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events, and anywhere that we need an extra eye.” Mounted Posse The Steele County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse and Auxiliary was rst organized in 1966 to assist the sheriff and the communities they serve by providing additional patrolling and mobility in areas of limited access. They represent the sheriff’s of ce in parades and local celebrations and are often called out by the sheriff to perform duties such as search and rescue, securing crime and accident scenes, and patrolling the Steele County Free Fair, among a variety of other situations. Joe Schwering, the captain of the posse, has been a part of the group for the last 40 years. He rst was brought in by a friend, but nding that he loved utilizing his horse while serving the community he has stuck with it ever since. When Sheriff Greg Ringhofer came along, Schwering started providing the horse that the sheriff would use for parades, the fair, and other public appearances — something that he has continued to do for Thiele. “We’ve been on quite a few searches,” Schwering said about some of the situations he has helped with in his 40 years, mentioning widely known missing persons cases in Minnesota such as Jacob Wetterling and Sheri Osborn. “We also provided security at both airplane crashes in the Owatonna area, working 24-hour days for 10 days at the one at the airport providing security.” Crowd control with horses has proven to be one of the most effective forms, according to the Minnesota Sheriff’s Mounted Posse Association, which was established one year after the Steele County posse. The use of horses in a crowd also is known to elevate of cer safety and be a peaceful way to deescalate tension in a large group of people. “You’re higher up, so you can see across the crowd and see if a problem arises easier,” Schwering explained. “You can get around quicker, too, and just move rather fast if you have to.” Schwering added that the horses seem to naturally calm a large crowd of people, perhaps because of their large size. He, however, believes it is because of the attention the animals get from the smallest people in the crowd. “The younger kids just really love the horse,” he laughed. “We make it available so if they want to they can come up and pet the horse and talk to the horse, and the horses love that, too. They usually bend their heads down when a kid comes and approaches them.” “Focusing particularly on the fair, the posse is crucial,” Thiele added. “When everybody goes home at night they think the fairgrounds is empty, but it’s not. My posse is out there riding all night long preventing any kind of theft or problems from happening.” There are some special requirements to becoming a member of a sheriff’s mounted posse: being at least 18 years of age, owning your own horse, and having the equipment to get yourself and your horse to where you need to be when called upon for assistance. All volunteers, the mounted posse in Steele County is made of 25 active and ve honorary members. They attend a variety of mandatory trainings, such as CPR and rst aid, search and rescue scenarios, and use of force both on the ground and from horseback. Posse members also practice escorting a squad car and escorting a person out of an angry crowd. Training and experience are important for the Posse’s equine partners as well. They participate in sensory training exercises where the horses are introduced to the unfamiliar obstacles and challenges that are part of the overall Posse experience. Being able to stand rm in the noise and commotion of a crowd or carefully moving one step sideways to avoid a baby stroller or small child is vital - the horses have to do it all. Some of the elements of the training include spraying the horses with a re hose and learning the sounds of all the rst responder and law enforcement vehicles. “The horses adapt really well to all the scenarios,” Schwering said. “It really helps a lot, even if we may run into something that we don’t go through with the sensory training, exposing the them to different thing is the whole idea of it. It helps the horses notice different things and expect different obstacles.” Getting the horses exposed to different things is invaluable. The more the horses are exposed to various situations, the better prepared both horse and rider will be. The mounted posse is a non-pro t organization that maintain a sense of civic responsibility through local activities, such as wagon trains, directing traf c at the Steele-Waseca Electric annual meeting, Shop with a Cop where they take a child shopping for necessary back-to-school supplies, and participation in the children’s safety camp where the goal is to promote a positive presence of law enforcement in the community. The mounted posse hosts fundraising activities, such as an annual pancake breakfast, the Minnesota Sheriff’s Mounted Posse Association wagon train, and the association’s annual convention. Some of the funds
Posse members and special deputies go through mandatory training every year. Pictured about, members of the mounted posse participate in a defense tactics training. (People’s Press le photo)
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The horses in the mounted posse have to train just the same as their riders in order to be ready for action. Part of their training involves a sensory obstacle course, shown here. (People’s Press le photo)
coordinator Les Abraham retired about ve years ago. “She has been an absolute asset in making sure that the special deputies are at whatever event they need to be at. Sometimes that can even mean sitting on a property until law enforcement can get things secured.”
The special deputies also assist the sheriff’s of ce in providing security in accident and crimes scenes until the investigations are complete. A perfect example of this assistance is the investigation of the 2008 jet plane crash at the Owatonna Airport, which resulted in the death of eight people. The investigation of the incident took many days, requiring special deputies to maintain long shifts for security at the crash site.
They also provide assistance guarding and transporting prisoners when needed, as well as assisting in providing bailiff and jury attendant services at the Steele County Courthouse. Special deputies are not armed, however they have direct radio communication with police of cers and sheriff’s deputies if assistance from law enforcement is needed. group serves. “It’s about making sure the public has that sense of security at all times.”
All special deputies are expected to work at least two civic functions in an unpaid capacity. Their monthly meetings provide time for interaction and updating of information plus the necessary training that is required annually for the members to continue working.
Many of the special deputies go on to become licensed of cers as the position is frequently used as a training period for students going to or just graduating from Law Enforcement School. This job provides helpful experience when trying to start their careers in law enforcement. Thiele said that in his time with Steele County he has been able to higher a couple of his former special deputies as full time deputies.
“I feel very fortunate to have both the special deputies and the mounted posse,” Thiele said. “Steele County should feel very fortunate, too, but they are such a large asset to our agency and another spoke on the wheel of the system.”
“When I have a deputy that needs a day off or is sick, I know that a special deputy is able to step up and help us out with that time off,” Thiele said as another important function the Members of the Sheriff’s Mounted Posse and Auxiliary of Steele County were inducted into the Steele County Equine Hall of Fame during opening day of the 2016 Steele County Free Fair. The Mounted Posse helps provide security at the fair each year, with even Sheriff Lon Thiele mounting a horse for the week. (People’s Press le photo)
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Investigators examined the scene of a fatal airplane crash near Owatonna, Minn., Thursday, July 31, 2008. A small jet crashed in strong thunderstorms Thursday while preparing to land at a regional airport in Minnesota, killing at least eight people. The Steele County Special Deputies and Mounted Posse worked long shifts to provide security on the scene during the investigation. (AP)
generated from these activities are donated to the Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota, scholarships, and donations to other local organizations. The Posse boasts proudly that even in today’s high-tech, fast-paced society they can continue to demonstrate the uncompromising utility of the horse. Special Deputies The special deputies were organized in the late forties to service the many dance halls in Steele County. They worked at the Monterey Ballroom, Zeiner’s Ballroom in Bixby, George’s Supper Club in Medford, and Kearney’s Night Club in Ellendale. Some of the early deputies were Myron Pirkl, Stan Wodarczak, Gordy Mollenhauer, Lawrence Christey, Bill Abraham, Kenny Hunt, and Al Steinbauer, to name a few. The group started under the direction of Sheriff E. Ted Helgeson and then Sheriff Don Christianson. As the dance halls closed, community centers and private clubs began to ll the void. Special deputies could be seen at the VFW, Eagles, Elk’s, Knights of Columbus Halls of Owatonna and Medford, the Community Center in Ellendale, and the Servicemen’s Club in Blooming Prairie. In the mid-1950s, Jim Kidd and Ed Holmen, along with the help of friends and fellow workers organized a group of citizens known as the Civil Defense. Their mission was to provide assistance of national security to the local area residents in case of any type of emergency. They learned the identi cation of many airplanes in case of a possible invasion, though most emergencies were weather related. This effort eventually morphed into the Weather Watch and Sky Warn organization. Another aspect of the local Civil Defense unit was to provide for civic activities such as intersection security at parades and fairgrounds patrol during the Steele County Free Fair. Kidd at the time was a vicepresident at Federated Insurance and Holmen worked at Owatonna Canning Company. Around 2005, the Civil Defense and the special deputies merged into one organization and are currently providing the same original services to Steele County. Currently there are 22 special deputies working Steele County, providing thousands of hours in service and security each year. Types of activities the special deputies provide service for include wedding dances, hotel security, fundraisers, sporting events, street dances, auctions, and city celebrations. For Thiele, he said the vast experience that his different deputies brings to the table is both bene cial and vital. “I have a former chief of police working for us,” Thiele said in reference to Gene Fisher, who was the Owatonna Chief of Police from 1997 to 2004 and was with the police department for a total of 36 years. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. He’s been just invaluable to us.” Thiele stated that a lot of the younger special deputies have stepped up into central leadership roles as well, including Captain Mark Kreutter and sergeants Lewis Luedtke and Adam Miller. “Another person who puts in a huge amount of work is Wyonne Priebe,” Thiele added. Preibe took over the role as the Special Deputies Coordinator after longtime
