Cut me a break
Officer Tim Gray (Blackduck) reports during angler checks on Red Lake an angler was leaving his shelter to get his license in his van when he cut the extra line near the shelter door. Unfortunately for him, his line was floating just a foot under the water. Gray just reached in and got the line, with hook and minnow attached.
Technology saves lost angler
Officer Gary Sommers (Walker) received a call from a bait shop when they received a call from a Walker resident on Leech Lake who became lost when attempting to drive to shore during a snowstorm. When the man came upon another fish house, he called the bait shop to see if they could run the tag number for an owner. The bait shop contacted Sommers who was able to get the owner's name. He relayed it to the lost person, who called the owner by cell phone. The owner of the fish house happened to have a GPS, located the lost angler, and got him to shore safely. The lost angler was advised to invest in a compass. The lost angler also received quite a bit of ribbing from friends who heard about the incident.
Bad behavior
CO Bruce Lawrence (Pine City) was showing a group of snowmobilers how a hand held radar works when a snowmobile operator drove by exceeding the 50 mph speed limit. The snowmobile operator noticed what Officer Lawrence was doing, stopped, drove up onto the road, and then went back in the other direction to avoid being stopped. However, the snowmobile operator soon returned jumping over driveways. Officer Lawrence followed the snowmobiler, but the operator did not want to stop. The snowmobile was located a short time later behind a garage in a back alley. A citizen identified the driver.
Fly fishing
CO Tim Jenniges (Windom) reports one angler who has an interest in walleyes and a love of flying put the two together by landing his airplane on a local lake between the rock hard snow drifts. He then broke out his fishing gear for some serious angling. This created quite a stir among the locals.
Unlicensed fish house opens door to drug charges
CO Kevin Prodzinski (Zumbrota) reports checking one ice house that reeked of marijuana when he opened the door. CO Prodzinski secured numerous pipes and containers of marijuana. While verifying identification one of the subjects had an active warrant for felony burglary. This all was the result of an unlicensed fish house.
What's under the hood?
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) was working a snowmobile detail with two other officers in the Tofte area. The officers spread out to check each group of sleds and drivers coming through at a road crossing. During a check of one such group Officer Manning noticed a rider opening the hood of his sled, gesturing toward the hood, and one of the other officers looking on and shaking her head. Officers completed all checks and the group departed leaving one officer still shaking her head and laughing. What was so funny? The driver had placed his state trail permit sticker "under the headlight" inside the hood of his machine.
Senior discount?
CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin) reported many snowmobilers were written citations for excessive speed. One snowmobiler questioned if there was a discount on the $177 fine amount for senior citizens!
Well look at that
CO Todd VanderWeyst (Paynesville) reported an angler using two extra lines threw the lines down the hole before letting the officer inside his fish shelter. While the officer did the inspection on the fish and licenses the angler thought he got a bite on his other line only to reel up not one but both of his extra lines! He later admitted to throwing the lines down the holes to avoid a citation. Enforcement action taken.
Road block prevents fire department from putting out house fire
CO Scott Staples (Carlton) took enforcement action on burning violations in the area. One violation was of a person who started an abandoned house on fire and blocking the road so the fire department could not get in to put the fire out. The fire department did get access to put the fire out, but not until the house burned to the ground. The property owner is facing charges of burning a large amount of prohibited material and numerous PCA violations.
Fishing partners
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) reports a group was living the good life sitting back in lawn chairs with sunscreen on and watching tip-ups. Nearby were some eagles sitting on the ice thankful for the good luck the anglers had had the previous day.
It's not a good thing
CO Brad Schultz (Center City) contacted an angler on an area lake, noted a good number of sunfish in his take and inquired as to the number in possession. The angler replied, "I’ve got 25 (actual count was 26), and I guess the limit is 20 so this is not a good thing is it?" It wasn't.
Off duty officer to the rescue
Lt. Rod Smith (New Ulm) organized the rescue of two fishermen who had driven their snowmobile into open water at the mouth of a river of Lake Winnie. Lt. Smith was on time off at his cabin when he heard people yelling for help. When he walked around to the front of the cabin he could see two people in open water about 200 yards from shore. He called 911, grabbed two ropes and ran across the frozen river towards the two fishermen. At that time several other fishermen, coming off the lake, saw what was happening and ran over to help. One of the fishermen had an aluminum ATV ramp. Smith tied his rope to it and walked out closer to the open water. He was able to push the ramp to the fishermen and directed them to pull the ramp into the water and put their feet on the bottom bar of the ramp. The group then pulled the fishermen out one at a time. The group then carried the two men to a nearby cabin where they had all their wet clothes removed, were wrapped in blankets, sat in front of a fire and waited for EMS. One man was transported to a nearby hospital; the other was airlifted to a hospital in Duluth. Both parties were treated and later released.
Puppy love
While on patrol near Minnesota Valley State Park recently, CO Adam Block (Prior Lake) observed a small cloud of smoke over a residence. Further investigation revealed a building on fire with several puppies inside. Discovering no one home, CO Block used an axe to break the lock on a horse stable door allowing access to the puppies. A passing motorist assisted with pulling nine, 7-week-old yellow labs from the burning building. Only one puppy couldn't be rescued. One puppy was named "Lucky." The name seemed fitting for all nine puppies. A heat lamp was determined to be the cause of the fire. The 5,000 square foot building was a total loss.
Tale of the tape
CO Stuart Bensen (Erskine) received a complaint of a horse injured by a mountain lion. The "mountain lion" was videotaped the following night. It turned out to be a dog.
Beer run
While Officer Pat Znajda (Karlstad) checked a fish house an occupant said he was going to get a beer from a fish house a distance away. As the man got closer to the house he started walking faster until he reached a jog. Officer Znajda headed towards the house on snowmobile and met the man as he arrived at the fish house. The fish house door opened showing one fisherman and 7 fishing lines occupying the house.
Marked man
CO Dale Ebel (Duluth) cited an individual for leaving his fish house on the ice after the legal deadline. When asked why he didn't move his fish house his reply was someone had stolen it back in February. When asked where he left it, he mentioned a particular lake. CO Ebel told him he had marked the fish house in question back in January and it hadn't moved.
Poaching incident wrapped up
Thanks to a call from a concerned citizen, CO Bret Grundmeier (Mora) found an angler keeping largemouth bass out of season. When the angler denied having any bass in possession, a quick search of his pickup turned up a 16 1/2 inch bass wrapped up and hidden inside a half empty 12-pack of pop.