Although the Cook County News-Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen and women are law-abiding folks, there are a few that run afoul of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officers. Periodically, the DNR provides a report of some of the miscreants the Conservation Officers (CO) have encountered. The News-Herald shares these stories as a reminder to all to be safe and to follow the rules!
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) followed up on cases from the firearm deer season. The officer spent time checking traps and a few early ice anglers.
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) checked trapping, small game hunting, and fishing activity during the week. The officer also checked a couple of muzzleloader hunters and reminds people to wear their orange.
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) responded to a call of two deer hanging in a shed but when she arrived it was found to be a hog that was butchered and two halves were hanging.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) reports that a fisherman tried pressing his luck by putting out a large wheeled fish house on Pelican Lake near Ashby. Unfortunately, he pressed it too far when the fish house fell through the ice. After several 50-degree days, the fish house resembled more of a boat than an ice house.
CO Amber Ladd (McGregor) reports follow-up was done on a big game case where a deer was shot with a bow across a road and left there after being field dressed. The suspect did not have a license to hunt deer.
CO Dan Starr (Onamia) took a call that he has never seen in 25 years of his career, when a large doe ran full blast into the side of a large corn chopper while the farmer was traveling down the road. The deer was killed on impact, yet the investigation continues as to a motive. Many theories abound as the corn chopper was, what else, a John Deere!
CO Kylan Hill (Zumbrota) cited a parent for allowing her 14-year-old son to drive a Class 2 ATV down the highway. The juvenile also had a loaded shotgun with him.
CO Mitch Boyum (Rushford) rode along with a combine driver who stated he observed a black bear in the standing corn. After a few passes the bear shot out from the corn and ran across the field. The driver commented that that was a first.
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