Officer does dog gone good job
While Conservation Officer Neil Freborg (Lake George, MN) was checking a female duck hunter, a pair of wood ducks came directly at them. CO Freborg advised her to shoot if she had the opportunity and crouched down out of sight. She fired twice as the ducks flew overhead and saw a puff of feathers before the ducks flew out of sight. Officer Freborg finished his checks and started walking the trail back to his truck. About 100 yards from the lake he found a dead wood duck in the middle of the trail. CO Freborg brought it back to the hunter who thanked him and told him he did a better job than her dog.
One unlucky day
An individual who was cited by CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) for angling without an angling license early one day, had even less luck later in the day when she was cited for shoplifting and driving after revocation by the Hibbing Police Department.
Let's be safe out there
CO Troy Ter Meer (Silver Bay) responded to a medical emergency in which a party fell off a trailer onto the rack of the moose he was loading. He received a puncture wound to the back.
Bear in the back startles moose hunter
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) reports a group of hunters had the moose they shot in the back of their truck at their campsite. As one of the men walked by the truck, a bear jumped out of the back. The man grabbed his rifle after the bear started coming back. He fired a warning shot over the bear's head, but the bear kept coming towards him. The bear was shot and killed.
Cabin owner swims with the decoys
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) investigated a hunter harassment complaint where a cabin owner did not approve of waterfowl hunters hunting an area of the lake in front of his cabin. The cabin owner swam into the duck decoys and waved a red shirt. The hunters lost sight of the man in the fog. The cabin owner left the area before the officer arrived.
Family members pinched by the same CO
CO Lloyd Steen (Ray/Kabetogama) assisted the St. Louis County Sheriff's Department rescue a lost grouse hunter after dark in the rain. The hunter was happy to see the deputy and the CO, even though he commented his older brothers, grandfather, and he had all been previously cited by the CO.
Floating evidence
CO Paul Kuske (Pierz) was contacted by a duck hunter on the Mississippi River, whom while in the blind, had three large bags of garbage come floating down the river. The hunter retrieved the bags and pulled them up on shore. CO Kuske hauled the bags to the landfill, where at closer inspection of the bags contents revealed the owner of the garbage. The individual was located and ticketed.
Hunter receives goose egg on head
CO Greg Salo (Mora) met with one waterfowl hunter in the emergency room who said while hunting on an area lake, he made a terrific shot on a goose. The goose came crashing down but in a last ditch effort to exact his revenge on the hunter, the goose aimed for the hunter and made a direct hit to the hunterÂ’s face. After receiving several stitches and a goose egg (no pun intended) the size of a softball on his forehead, the hunter went home with one goose in the bag.
He was right, but he was wrong
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) found an angler, who already had an open beer at 8:00 AM, angling with an extra line. When asked why the individual was using an extra line, he said, "I thought you would be working goose hunters." He was right, but the officer was working duck and goose hunters on the lake he was fishing on.
Crack shot CO saves trophy buck
CO Greg Oldakowski (Wadena) reports receiving a call of two large bucks with locked horns. One of the large bucks, a large 10-pointer, was already dead. A 14-pointer was dragging his dead sparring partner out of a cattail. Because of the strength and agility left in the live deer, the decision was made to attempt to shoot the rack of the dead animal to free the other trophy deer. CO Oldakowski used his handgun to shoot 2 tines off the dead 10-point buck. The 14-pointer freed itself and ran away unharmed except for maybe some ringing ears, but with no broken antler points.
2006 trumpeter swan incident closed
CO Karl Hadrits (Crosby) reports that court proceedings were completed recently on a case where two individuals pled guilty to shooting a trumpeter swan. The offenders were ordered to pay a total of $2,542 for shooting at a flock of trumpeters and killing a juvenile swan. The October 2006 incident was witnessed by nearby concerned hunters who promptly called TIP. The penalties assessed for the offense included the statutory $1000 restitution value of a trumpeter swan, as well as restitution costs incurred by the Garrison Animal Hospital's Wild and Free program for attempting to treat and rehabilitate the juvenile swan.
Why it's important to identify the target before pulling the trigger
While attempting to teach the Law and Ethics portion of a Firearms Safety Class in Stillwater, CO Alex Gutierrez (Metro Officer) was dispatched to Bayport WMA on an incident involving a small game hunter accidentally shooting a deer archery hunter. The archery hunter was legally hunting deer in the WMA, while in a natural vegetation ground blind while wearing full camouflage. The small game hunter, although wearing blaze orange, was also legally hunting. It appears that the small game hunter failed to clearly identify his target and accidentally shot the deer archery hunter. Criminal charges are pending on the small game hunter.