CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) worked the busy opening weekend of the firearms deer season. He assisted with a DWI arrest and fielded many calls about hunting regulations. Enforcement action was taken for hunting over bait, DWI and license violations.
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) dealt with illegal deer baiting, checked whitefish nets and activity and assisted the Sheriff ’s Office with a rollover crash. Assistance was also given to the U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) worked a TIP complaint on deer baiting and checked deer and grouse hunters over the opening weekend of the firearms deer season. Manning also followed up on a trapping call, checked bear bait station sites, and attended the Cook County Aquatic Invasives Task Force meeting.
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji) provided assistance to local law enforcement when a small buck crashed through a window and was inside an apartment building. When officers walked in to open the patio door, the deer decided to exit by breaking through another window. Vollbrecht also responded with a boat to a suspicious object floating in the water.
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) investigated an incident where a car was struck by a bullet from a hunter shooting at a deer. Enforcement action was taken.
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) confronted a deer hunter about hunting over bait who was totally oblivious about the rules and regulations. He willingly showed the officer multiple prohibited deer attractants put down in the area as well as corn set out, all in his camouflage attire and without any blaze orange on while hunting.
A last-minute call from dispatch was also responded to regarding an individual who had shot a deer from the roadway. The person fully admitted to shooting the doe off the road and said he and his kid didn’t get anything during the weekend, so he wanted to go home with a deer.
CO John Slatinski (Ray) reports that one person lit a propane heater in his stand on opening morning, which malfunctioned and caught the stand on fire, burning it to the ground. They were all able to get out without injury, but were shook up.
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!
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