District 1 – Baudette area
Last updated: 2026-07-27
CO Coby Fontes (Warroad South) spent the week patrolling the Beltrami Island State Forest. Fontes reports that a lot of folks have been out foraging blueberries, and notes that they are out in abundance. Enforcement action was taken for operating an ATV under the influence of alcohol.
CO Bobby Stringer (Thief River Falls West) reports an increase in traffic in and around local wildlife management areas and the state forest as the berries flourish. Overall, good harvests were observed with minimal enforcement actions required. Stringer wants to remind foragers of approved camping sites and highlight that mowing, disturbing, and removing large sections of vegetation is prohibited within WMAs. Other enforcement actions for the week included angling without licenses in possession, no Type IV throwable on watercraft, allowing dogs to chase deer in a state park, and a variety of ATV violations.
CO Sarah Jahn (Thief River Falls East) taught an ATV safety class to youth at the Marshall County fair. Enforcement action was taken for juveniles without helmets on an ATV. Training at Camp Ripley was also attended.
CO Nick Prachar (Blackduck #1) worked fire duty in northeastern Minnesota.
District 2 – Bemidji area
Last updated: 2026-07-27
CO Jamus Veit (Bemidji #1) spent the week attending training at Camp Ripley, fielding calls about wildlife-related complaints, and monitoring angling/ATV activity.
CO Andrew Goodman (Perham) focused on boat and water safety enforcement, as many people flocked to the water for relief from the extreme heat. The most common violations encountered were deck and gunwale riding, along with various personal watercraft-related violations. Additional time was spent handling wildlife-related complaints, attending training, and on ATV enforcement.
CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week training with K9 Axel and other members of the DNR K9 team. Swedberg also worked on a public waters case and answered questions about nuisance bears and public access laws.
CO Curtis Jepson (Osage) spent the week checking area anglers and monitoring local ATV traffic. Jepson attended training at Camp Ripley on a new records management system. Follow up was also completed on various wildlife-related complaints.
CO Angela Warren (Mahnomen) worked angling and boating activity. AIS compliance checks were performed. Patrol was conducted for ATV and off-road vehicle activity and follow up on open cases was conducted. Warren also attended training at Camp Ripley.
CO Bill Landmark (Moorhead) spent the week checking anglers, boaters, ATV operators, and working on a background investigation. Time was also spent on wetland investigations, a ride-along, a TV interview on water safety, and training at Camp Ripley for a new records management system. Owners of larger crew cab ATVs are encouraged to check their weight and what they are registered as. These larger ATVs often weigh over 2,000 pounds, making them an off-road vehicle, which are illegal to operate on roadways. Enforcement action was taken for ORV use on a roadway, juvenile ATV operation, no ATV safety training, and failure to display ATV registration.
CO Brady Manteufel (Bagley) assisted in instructing classes for the new records management system to officers this week at Camp Ripley. Information and education were also provided to the public at the Lake George Blueberry Festival and kids carnival. Phone calls about wildlife and the new license system were fielded.
CO Ryan Schaefer (Bemidji #2) spent the past week checking local anglers and monitoring AIS compliance. An injured loon was rescued and transported to a rehab center in Park Rapids. Schaefer also attended mandatory training at Camp Ripley and assisted people with multiple nuisance black bear issues.
District 3 – Fergus Falls area
Last updated: 2026-07-27
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) worked fire duty in northeastern Minnesota throughout the week.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) completed investigations into aquatic plant management and public waters violations. Injured-animal complaints were received and handled. Osborne assisted with fire duty in Ely.
CO Jake Homan (Alexandria) spent the week patrolling Douglas and Pope counties for angling and recreational boating activities. Time was spent following up on ongoing cases. Enforcement action was taken for a variety of boating violations.
CO Emily Douvier (Morris) reports working fishing and recreational enforcement. Enforcement action was taken for various boating violations.
CO Andrew Ladzinski (Glenwood) dedicated his time towards boating enforcement and safety during the busy Glenwood Waterama weekend. Neighboring officers joined in on the extra water patrols for the weekend. Enforcement action was taken for gunwale riding, registration issues, lack of personal floatation devices, operating jet skis after hours, underage alcohol consumption, and boating while impaired.
Wheaton – vacant.
District 4 – Walker area
Last updated: 2026-07-27
CO Jack Lien (Walker) spent much of his time patrolling area lakes across Cass County. Extra patrols were conducted on a variety of high-density and recreational lakes with few violations noted. Anglers were checked around the area and few angling violations were found. Lien responded to nuisance-animal complaints and conducted agency training at Camp Ripley with members of the division.
CO Corey Sura (Remer) assisted with a boater safety course at Big Sandy Lake. Time was spent making a patrol presence at a permitted watersports event on a Longville-area lake and assisting Cass County with a trespass complaint. During an AIS patrol Sura stopped an individual for transporting their boat without the drain plug removed. The driver was also transporting an overlimit of walleyes for himself and the passenger.
CO Levi Brown (Staples) responded to multiple bear-related complaints this week. They primarily were trying to access food sources. Brown also patrolled local lakes and areas for ATV activities. Enforcement actions were taken for various types of violation to include transporting aquatic macrophytes, fishing without a license, and helmet violations on ATVs.
ATV rec officer – vacant.
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