GOODHUE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

SE Minn. town soon to be without a police force after resignations

Brian Todd — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 22:23:29 GMT

GOODHUE, Minn. — By Aug. 24, the City of Goodhue will be without any police officers on staff.

On Monday, Aug. 14, the City Council accepted the resignations of Police Chief Josh Smith and full-time Officer Anthony Brecht. Five part-time officers also resigned, leaving the town of 1,250 without any officers.

"We no longer have a police force," said Goodhue Mayor Ellen Anderson Buck.

Buck said all current investigations being conducted by the city's police department would be handed over to the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office.

"Josh is working with (Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy) John Huneke," the mayor said. "All current cases will be handed over to Goodhue County."

Buck said she wanted to assure the City Council and the residents of Goodhue that the city would continue to receive police coverage, mainly from the Sheriff's Office, on an interim basis.

She added that she has a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with Goodhue County Sheriff Marty Kelly and Huneke to talk about the Sheriff's Office providing coverage.

While the situation may seem unprecedented, Buck said Goodhue was not the first small town to lose its police force, and it would likely not be the last. The city has reached out to the League of Minnesota Cities to get help with rebuilding its police force.

There are currently 202 job openings in Minnesota for peace officers in law enforcement jobs, Buck said.

Not all cities have their own police department. For example, the City of Stewartville contracts with Olmsted County for law enforcement coverage in its town. Stewartville pays the county annually to staff deputies whose main job is to patrol the city. The city also gets coverage from the county because county law enforcement will respond to a call even if that call happens outside any time period of contracted coverage.

In Goodhue County, the City of Wanamingo contracts with the Sheriff's Office for coverage around seven hours a day, said Goodhue City Council Member Joe Benda. Goodhue would be looking for 16 hours of coverage per day from the Sheriff's Office to make up for the coverage lost by the resignations.

City Council Member Chris Schmit said 112 hours a week of Sheriff's Office coverage multiplied by the going rate of $55.83 per hour would come to a little more than $325,000 annually.

One of the reasons for the resignations — and an item on Monday's special session agenda that was pushed back — is pay. Recruitment of new officers was another, according to Buck and Schmit.

During a July 26 meeting, Smith said the current rate of pay for officers in Goodhue was $22 per hour, adding the rate is not competitive compared to other cities in the region.

He also said the Goodhue department has been having issues with recruitment, as young officers are getting hired to work in larger cities.

"There's zero incentive to come out here to a small town," he said during the meeting. "Low pay, being on call, affecting your free time and everything else."

The city had three police officers, but one quit in June, Schmit said. That officer has not been replaced.

"The small-town policing that they did, we want that back," he said.

Council member Patrice O’Reilly agreed.

Buck said the city is going to have to work hard to bring the pay up to a level that will attract officers to Goodhue.

"This is a great place to live and work, and I think we'll get them back here," she said. "It's just going to take some time to rebuild."

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Swimmers who died in Vermillion River near Red Wing identified

Staff reports — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 16:43:34 GMT

RED WING, Minn. — The three people who died while swimming in the Vermillion River were identified on Thursday, July 6.

The Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office identified them as 22-year-old Miguel Juan-Jose, 17-year-old Petrona Juan-Jose and 41-year-old Ke Drer.

Three people — Miguel Juan-Jose, Petrona Juan-Jose and a woman who was not identified by law enforcement — were swimming in the Vermillion River near Red Wing.

Drer, who was related to the woman, was fishing and part of a group gathered on the north side of Diamond Island when three swimmers started struggling in the water, according to the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office. Drer went into the water to help them. He was able to rescue an adult female, his daughter, the Sheriff’s Office said.

He entered the water to help the remaining two swimmers when all three of them went under the water and did not resurface. The Sheriff’s Office said 10 to 15 minutes passed before the 911 call was made.

In a news conference held late Tuesday afternoon, Maj. Mike Johnson said Drer was not related to the other two individuals who also drowned, but the families live together in Oakdale.

The area where they were swimming was 3 feet deep and dropped sharply to a depth of 8 to 9 feet. The people were inexperienced swimmers and did not have life vests on, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff's Office said two bodies were located around 6:53 a.m. and the third was located at 7:05 a.m. Wednesday, July 5.

Over the two-day search, the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Red Wing Fire Department participated in search and recovery efforts.

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Bodies found of missing men, teen who went in river near Red Wing

Staff reports — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 19:54:37 GMT

RED WING, Minn. — The bodies of three people who went missing near the Mississippi River on Monday evening were located Wednesday morning, July 5.

The Goodhue County Sheriff's Office said two bodies were located around 6:53 a.m. and the third was located at 7:05 a.m.

The families of the missing swimmers were made aware of the recovery.

The Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office has responded to the scene and will be releasing the names of those located, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office said there was a family gathering on the north side of Diamond Island on the Vermillion River near Red Wing.

One member of the group was fishing from shore while three others were swimming in the river. All three of the swimmers started struggling in the water. The man fishing on shore went into the water to help the struggling swimmers, the Post Bulletin previously reported.

He was able to rescue an adult female, his daughter, the Sheriff's Office said.

The man reentered the water to assist the other two swimmers. All three people went under the water and did not resurface. The Sheriff's Office said 10 to 15 minutes passed before the 911 call was made.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the three missing people were inexperienced swimmers and did not have life vests on.

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