District 1 – Baudette area
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls) continued to monitor area firearms deer-hunting activity. After-hours shooting complaints appeared to be more frequent than usual this season. Enforcement action was taken for using artificial lights to locate game, taking deer without a valid license, shooting big game from the roadway, unlawful party hunting, taking a deer overlimit, allowing a juvenile to commit a violation, taking deer over bait, transporting a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, failure to register a deer, and transporting deer without licensee.
CO Demosthenes Regas (Blackduck) reports focusing enforcement efforts on deer-hunting activity throughout the week. Time was spent investigating reports of shooting from the roadway, hunter trespassing, TIP information, and issuing possession permits for car-killed deer and bears. Nuisance beaver issues were forwarded to the area wildlife manager.
District 2 – Bemidji area
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji) reports an ATVer operating without headlights turned out to be both the driver and passenger having loaded firearms while road-hunting. Multiple complaints about deer hunters trespassing on other people’s property were fielded during the week and are currently being addressed. A call from the local police department about an untagged deer turned into a multi-violation case consisting of it being unregistered as well as being shot by a party member whose license was not valid until the following the day. A TIP complaint also was addressed in which a nearby hunter observed another hunting party shoot a deer near the roadway. It had been partially field-dressed but was left in the woods. When the hunting party was interviewed, one stated that they didn’t take it because they shot it in the hindquarters and also admitted to shooting it from the roadway. Enforcement action was taken.
CO Al Peterson (Osage) checked firearms deer hunters and worked complaints of shooting from the roadway, late shooting, and baiting. While assisting CO Plautz, Peterson seized two additional guns from two road hunters. That was two days after an earlier shooting-from-the-road case that resulted in four guns taken from the same two hunters.
CO Steve Chihak (Moorhead) spent the week working small-game and deer-hunting enforcement. Deer-hunting success appeared to decline with the colder weather as fewer hunters were seen afield. One determined 83-year-old veteran braved the cold and was rewarded with a nice buck on Veteran’s Day. Others attempted to fill their tags in a less honorable manner.
CO Angie Warren (Mahnomen) spent the week focusing on firearms deer-hunting activity. Complaints about trespass and road-hunting, illegal dumping of ducks, and illegal aquatic vegetation removal were investigated. A call about dogs chasing deer was worked. Warren received multiple calls about possibly injured swans. Assistance was provided to the local sheriff’s office for a residential alarm. Warren also assisted with retrieval of miniature horses that had escaped their pen and were running down a county road.
District 3 – Fergus Falls area
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) patrolled deer hunters throughout Douglas County. A complaint was received about some duck hunters shooting late. Lawler located them and observed them shoot multiple times more than 30 minutes after legal shooting hours. Citations were issued for the late shooting as well as a loaded firearm in a motor boat.
CO Brian Holt (Osakis) investigated a dog-in-a-trap complaint and has an ongoing investigation related to a felon in possession of a firearm.
District 4 – Walker area
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) reports a busy week of deer-hunting activity in the area. Several complaints arrived, including hunting deer over bait, hunting while revoked, trespassing, and shooting at a deer from the roadway. Other complaints associated with deer hunting were investigated and others remain under investigation. A forestry call about a truck operator causing ruts on state land was investigated, and a public waters restoration order was issued.
District 5 – Eveleth area
CO John Slatinski (Ray) reports deer-hunting activity was the main focus of a busy week. Site tag validation, lending and borrowing tags, and failure to register deer were the most common violations. The CO also worked with the Forestry Division on a spruce top cutting incident in which a person was educated on requirements to legally harvest forest resources. Slatinski met with a landowner who located an offal pile from a deer on an approach to their property and, along with neighboring officers, met with another landowner who had located a dead deer on his property.
CO Duke Broughten (Cook) spent the week monitoring hunting and ATVing activity. He continued to work deer-hunting activity. More violations of hunting deer over bait were encountered. Several calls about shooting deer from the roadway were investigated.
CO Marc Hopkins (Tower) also took a call about hunters fighting. A bull moose head was found and is under investigation.
CO Don Bozovsky (Hibbing) worked deer-hunting activity during the week. Deer-baiting complaints tapered off, but continue to be worked. Folks changed tactics and started to shoot deer from the roadway while having loaded guns in their vehicles. On a positive note, Bozovsky checked a father and two daughters who were deer hunting. They were doing it right and had successful hunts. The 10-year-old daughter shot her first buck and the 14-year-old daughter shot her second buck of the season (party hunting).
CO Matt Frericks (Virginia) took a TIP call of a person who was only seen dragging a deer out of the woods then putting it in a truck and leaving. When Frericks arrived at the site from where the person had left, it appeared that the deer was likely shot from the road. When Frericks found the owner of the vehicle at his house, before he could ask any questions, the hunter said, “Yeah I shot from the road.”
CO Mark Fredin (Aurora) investigated an accidental shooting of a cow moose.
District 6 – Two Harbors area
CO John Velsvaag (Ely) checked deer hunters and netters this past week. Deer hunting was slow and some lakes skimmed over with ice on the weekend. Several calls about nuisance animals were received as well as about the new pike regulation in regards to spearing.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked deer hunters, stands, and deer camps. Manning also helped with an ATV safety class field day at Cook County Schools. Snowfall in the Arrowhead is making travel conditions on unplowed forest roads more challenging and folks are reminded to be prepared and know their route before getting too far down the road.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) reports average activity and fair success for deer hunters, although the deer population seems to be nearly nonexistent in the Tomahawk and Isabella areas. Numerous enforcement contacts were made for violations such as untagged deer, failure to validate a deer tag, failure to register a deer, permitting unlawful hunting by a minor, shooting within 500 feet of a house, litter, and several instances of transporting loaded firearms.
CO Don Murray (Two Harbors) worked a busy second weekend of the firearms deer season. Big-game hunting investigations continued this week with enforcement action taken for no license in possession, taking deer over bait, untagged deer, and failure to validate a deer tag. Even with severe penalties such as license revocation and firearms forfeiture, some hunters still choose to illegally hunt over bait.
District 7 – Grand Rapids area
CO Randy Patten (Northome) checked deer hunters, investigated complaints about deer-hunting violations, and assisted in the search for a lost hunter.
CO Jayson Hansen (Bigfork) and COC Nathan Benkofske worked deer-hunting activity. Enforcement action was taken for unregistered deer, overlimits, lending and borrowing of tags, parents directing minors to violate the hunting laws, taking an antlerless deer without a permit, tagging violations, no blaze orange, hunting without a license, transporting loaded firearms, and possession of drug paraphernalia. They also assisted Itasca County officials in the search for a lost hunter.
CO Mike Fairbanks (Deer River) checked deer hunters, investigated baiting complaints, assisted with a medical emergency alongside a road, and checked waterfowl hunters. Fairbanks and his K9 partner Si also assisted with a felon in possession case. Si was able to locate a spent rifle casing, rifle, and articles of clothing that had been left in the woods.
CO Sarah Grell (Grand Rapids) worked firearms deer-hunting activity. She also followed up on open investigations related to deer poaching.
CO Thomas Sutherland (Grand Rapids) and COC Taylor Hochstein focused on deer-hunting activities throughout the week. Numerous deer camps were checked. Enforcement actions were taken for big-game violations and cutting balsam boughs without a permit.
CO Jimmy Van Asch (Pengilly) reports with the second weekend of the firearms deer season under way, the focus was primarily on big-game enforcement. Neighboring officers and Van Asch assisted the Itasca County Sheriff’s Office with a search for a lost hunter. The hunter was successfully located and treated for hypothermia and frostbite.
District 8 – Duluth area
CO Jacob Willis (Brookston) had a busy week with firearms deer season in full swing. One of many TIP calls resulted in a citation being issued for agricultural trespass. The caller reported that an individual shot a deer in the field in which the caller was sitting. Property disputes were mediated, and a group of hunters were assisted in retrieving a deer they had legally taken that had run on to a neighboring posted property.
CO Kipp Duncan (Duluth) and COC Leah Kampa worked together for the second weekend of deer hunting. Hunter harassment complaints were investigated, contacts were made with hunters, and a few hunters had success in harvesting a deer.
CO Jeff Humphrey (Cromwell) reports firearms deer season work continued throughout the week. Humphrey assisted in search efforts for a missing hunter in Pine County. The first ice angler of the season was checked and educated on ice conditions. Extreme caution is advised if even considering going out on the ice.
CO Scott Staples (Carlton) worked trespassing complaints and assisted with shooting-from-the-road complaints with K9 Schody.
District 9 – Brainerd area
CO Patrick McGowan (Pine River) continued field training with a conservation officer candidate. They checked firearms deer hunters and late-season duck hunters. Enforcement action was taken for shooting a deer from roadway, transportation of loaded firearms, hunting over bait, untagged deer, unregistered deer, and driving after revocation.
CO Bob Mlynar (Aitkin) worked firearms deer-hunting activity throughout the week. An illegal-burning complaint was investigated, as were several TIP calls. A complaint about closed-hours ATV operation also was worked. A group of hunters had a deer removed from their possession when Mlynar determined the tag was left to be filled by a hunter in Iowa.
CO Chelsey Best (Crosslake) worked big-game and waterfowl-hunting activity throughout the week. Enforcement action was taken for transporting loaded guns. Assistance was provided regarding littering complaints and retrieving game across posted property lines.
CO Eric Sullivan (Pequot Lakes) worked on trespassing complaints throughout the week. He also contacted road hunters, and enforcement action was taken for transporting loaded firearms and illegally taking big game from the road right of way.
CO Jim Guida (Brainerd) reports a big-game baiting investigation resulted in a firearm seizure for potential forfeiture. The hunter faces a big-game license revocation and expensive fines for his actions.
District 10 – Mille Lacs area
CO Gregory Verkuilen (Garrison) worked deer season activity including calls about trespassing and late shooting. Verkuilen also issued possession tags, did some equipment maintenance, and dealt with abandoned property at a public access.
CO Dustie Speldrich (Willow River) investigated TIP calls regarding hunting with bait, hunter harassment, and hunting without a license. A hunter lost in the Nemadji State Forest remains missing.
CO Bret Grundmeier (Hinckley) and COC Jacob Swedberg spent the week checking deer hunters and dealing with deer season calls and complaints. A check of one hunting property resulted in finding a shed full of deer with no site tags attached. Another group was found hunting and harvesting deer prior to purchasing the correct deer licenses.
CO Eugene Wynn (Pine City) spent a majority of the week assisting in the search for a missing hunter in the Nemadji State Forest.
CO Luke Croatt (Wealthwood) checked deer hunters during the week and weekend. A number of TIP complaints were investigated, ranging from shooting lanes pushed in with heavy equipment to nails and staples thrown on roads to block hunters.
District 11 – St. Cloud area
CO Joyce Kuske (Little Falls) assisted with a bear bait violation, and took calls about wood chips used to fill in a wetland, a felon using a firearm, illegally dumped deer carcasses in road ditches, and multiple calls about trespass and hunter harassment. A report of wanton waste, in which a hunter shot a fawn and left it lay in the field, is being investigated.
CO Caleb Silgjord (Sauk Centre) spent time during the week monitoring deer-hunting activity in the area. Colder weather chased some hunters out of the field but success seemed high for those willing to brave the low temperatures. During the week, assistance was provided to the Todd County Sheriff’s Office with a deceased hunter and a suicidal individual. A TIP complaint resulted in enforcement action and the seizure of a large buck after a hunter borrowed a deer license. The license also was invalid, as it was purchased the same day the deer was taken.
CO Chad Thesing (Albany) spent most of his time focusing on deer-hunting activity. Several lakes and ponds in the area froze over with the cold weather and snow. TIP calls were handled. Several hunters encountered were transporting loaded guns in vehicles and on ATVs. Tagging violations were addressed. One group of hunters was checked with a juvenile hunter (10) shooting his first deer. Unfortunately, neither the father nor the son had a gun deer license.
CO Frank Rezac (St. Cloud) reports a case involving a recovered escaped game farm deer was followed up on.
CO Keith Bertram (Long Prairie) reports having the busiest deer season of his 15-year career. Numerous calls, such as trespassing, shooting from the road, illegal party hunting, felons hunting with guns, and using rifles in a shotgun zone were handled. Enforcement action also was taken for hunting without a license, hunting over bait, transporting loaded guns, failing to register deer, and several untagged deer.
District 12 – Princeton area
CO Mike Krauel (Mora) had the opportunity to congratulate two separate young hunters who were able to harvest their first deer.
CO Trent Seamans (Big Lake) reports a stolen ATV was recovered after the CO took a call from a landowner who was concerned that a hunter was trespassing. The ATV was ditched along a wood line, but nobody was in the nearby woods.
District 13 – West Metro area
CO Tim Maass (Osseo) continued to check deer hunters and follow up on investigations from the opening week of deer season. Maass also investigated a complaint about a possible wetland violation.
CO Alexander Birdsall (Waconia) reports medical care was given to a landowner who suffered a severe injury when a tree limb he was cutting down landed on him.
CO Arnaud Kpachavi (Mound) assisted CO Maass with a case involving an overlimit of bucks. Enforcement action is pending. Kpachavi also worked with neighboring officers over the weekend on a baiting case in which multiple hunters were found to have been hunting over bait on one property.
District 14 – East Metro area
CO Joe Kulhanek (Hastings) responded to many trespassing complaints, one of which consisted of an individual shooting a deer in a neighbor’s mowed backyard as they were enjoying the wildlife out their window.
CO Luke Gutzwiller (White Bear Lake) continued to work ongoing investigations surrounding the firearms deer season involving violations of shooting from the roadway, license issues, illegal party hunting, failure to validate a deer tag, hunter harassment, and others.
District 15 – Marshall area
CO Matt Loftness (Marshall) spent the week working the firearms deer season. Investigations were conducted dealing with trespassing, shooting from roadway, illegal party hunting, and other license and taking violations. Some flocks of northern mallards continue to hang around, even with most sloughs frozen over.
CO Jim Robinson (Slayton) spent the week working hunters. Firearms deer season was successful for many deer hunters who were willing to put in the time sitting in cold weather.
District 16 – New Ulm area
CO Thor Nelson (New Ulm) received calls about possible stranded waterfowl hunters, taking deer from a roadway, and lending/borrowing deer tags. The firearms deer season harvest seems to have decreased a little from last year.
CO Mike Gruhlke (Jackson) reports that he worked the deer season as well as trapping, angling, and other fall activities. Perhaps for the remainder of the season, waterfowl hunting will be in fields, as most of the sloughs and lakes have frozen over.
District 17 – Mankato area
CO Chad Davis (Owatonna) responded to multiple TIP complaints regarding illegal big-game and waterfowl-hunting activity.
CO Chris Howe (St. Peter) worked complaint areas and patrolled public lands for personal equipment stored there illegally.
District 18 – Rochester area
CO Mitch Boyum (Rushford) received a report about a coyote stuck to a piece of wood. Upon arriving, Boyum found the coyote had wedged its paw in a stump and was stuck. The coyote was set free.
CO Tom Hemker (Winona) checked a deer hunter hunting in a state park and trespassing while possessing marijuana. The same hunter also had a moose head, elk antlers, and several rooster pheasants in his vehicle. It appeared the moose and pheasants were taken legally. Another hunter tried to smash a marijuana pipe with a battery in the back of his ATV and found that his pipe was stronger than his car battery.
CO Kylan Hill (Zumbrota) contacted multiple deer hunters floating an area river. They were cited after it was found that they had illegally entered posted property to retrieve a deer. Hill contacted an ATV operator who was operating without registration displayed. After Hill left the driver, the driver later passed him on the road and continued to break ATV laws. Hill attempted to make a stop on the vehicle, but the driver decided he didn’t want to speak to Hill again. Hill knew his identity and he was later placed under arrest and is being charged with felony fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle.
The post Minnesota Outdoor News Cuffs & Collars – Nov. 16, 2018 appeared first on Outdoornews.
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