Weekly Minnesota #DNR Conservation Officer Reports-Nov 10, 2025

CO Jamus Veit (Bemidji #1) spent time prior to the firearms deer season preparing for opener and answering numerous calls from public regarding hunting regulation questions. Veit worked a busy firearm deer opener. Most hunters throughout the weekend reported a slower opening weekend. Enforcement action was taken for hunting with the aid of bait, transporting a loaded firearm, failure to validate deer license, and CWD feed and attractants ban in designated counties.

CO Andrew Goodman (Perham) checked a good number of hunters during the opening weekend of firearms deer season, with a fair number of deer being harvested. Waterfowl hunters continue to report a poor showing of birds in the area, with the exception of a few more geese. On the icy and blustery Sunday night, Goodman responded to a report of a stranded PWC rider and kayaker on a large area lake. Luckily, they were rescued by the sheriff’s office before sustaining life threating conditions. Goodman reports shallow bays and some shores having ice forming.

CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week preparing for the rifle deer season and answering numerous questions about hunting regulations. Over the weekend, CO Swedberg and K9 Axel were busy with baiting cases, calls for hunters shooting from the roadway, and people transporting loaded guns. Other time was spent investigating abandoned stands on public lands and doing K9 training.

CO Jordan Anderson (Osage) continued field training this week with COC Nathan Garza. Time was spent preparing for and working the firearms deer season opener. Enforcement action was taken for hunting over bait, transporting loaded firearms, take big game with thermal scope, tagging and registration violations, as well as ATV violations.

CO William Landmark (Moorhead) continued this week field training COC Corbus. Time was spent preparing for, and working, the firearm’s deer opener weekend. Enforcement action was taken for hunting deer with the aid of bait, hunting deer without a deer license, overlimit of deer, blaze orange violations, and reckless discharge of a firearm.

CO Angela Warren (Mahnomen) spent time on hunting activity. Area WMAs and WPAs were patrolled. ATV and off-road vehicle activity was worked. Firearm deer season opening weekend was worked, with hunters checked having a slow start to the season. Trespass, hunter harassment and baiting complaints were investigated.

CO Brady Manteufel (Bagley) checked deer hunters and followed up on an abandoned watercraft this week. Activity was reported as slow in most areas and more deer activity was seen in the western portion of the patrol region. Violations encountered were hunting over bait, feeding ban violations, and no license in possession. TIP calls and trespass issues were also addressed.

Bemidji #2 – vacant.

Pelican Rapids – vacant.

CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) finalized field training with a new officer. Several phone calls and questions were handled for the upcoming firearms deer season. Multiple violations were handled for possession of firearms within five days prior to the opening day of deer season. A busy firearms opening weekend was worked with several folks having success.

CO Ryan Brown (Elbow Lake) reports focusing his enforcement effort on pheasant and deer hunting activity during the week, into the weekend. According to hunters, the rut was in full swing and success was fairly high. Additional time was spent with trespass and hunting over bait complaints with enforcement action taken.

CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) checked deer hunters and ATV’s. Several deer hunting related questions were received and answered. Waterfowl numbers in the area have increased over the past week with the majority of divers arriving on area bodies of waters.

CO Jake Homan (Alexandria) spent the week patrolling Douglas County for big game, waterfowl, and recreational vehicle activities. Time was spent getting ready for the upcoming firearms deer season with numerous calls being handled. Enforcement action with custodial arrests being made for multiple felons in possession of firearms. Homan assisted Douglas County Sheriffs Office with a search warrant stemming from the arrests.
CO Felicia Znajda (Osakis) spent the busy firearms deer season opener checking countless hunters. She reports more success on Saturday compared to Sunday, but overall had lots of happy hunters around the Douglas and Todd County area. She worked multiple baiting cases with partnering wardens. Several violations encountered including but not limit to: hunting without firearms license, hunting without archery license, take deer without license, failure to validate tag, failure to affix tag to big game, and illegal party hunting.

CO Curtis Jepson (Wheaton) patrolled the station, checked waterfowl and pheasant hunters, and over the weekend worked the firearms deer hunting season. Hunters were seeing plenty of bucks chasing does. Staff at the Wheaton CWD sampling station were impressed by the number of deer harvested on opening day, most of which were bucks. Enforcement action was taken for hunting over bait, and multiple trespass calls were fielded.

CO Emily Douvier (Morris) reports working a busy firearms deer opener. Pheasant and duck hunting activity was also monitored with a decent number of birds harvested overall. Violations encountered included fail to validate, tag, and register deer, and taking big game from a roadway.

CO Andrew Ladzinski (Glenwood) dedicated his time to big game enforcement this week. Hunters were having great success with numerous bucks taken throughout the opening weekend. Enforcement action was taken for hunting with the aid of bait , failing to validate tags, and failing to attach tags to the deer. A firearm was seized that was used while hunting with bait.

CO Nick Baum (Park Rapids) patrolled the area for Big Game activity. CO Baum found several hunters have success on the opening weekend of Firearm Deer season. CO Baum took enforcement action on various Big Game violations.

CO Landyn Saewert (Wadena) worked big-game and recreational vehicle enforcement throughout the week. Several deer hunters took the woods for the Minnesota firearms deer season. Hunters appeared to have success. CO Saewert assisted with the rescue of two stranded hunters and a house fire.

CO Patrick McGowan (Cass Lake) and COC Kaitlyn Istvanovich worked Leech Lake during the week. Additionally, they worked deer firearm opener. Numerous contacts were made and hunters reported varying levels of success. Time was also spent investigating TIP complaints.

CO Corey Sura (Remer) handled calls for ATV’s in non-motorized areas, and suspected hunter harassment. Sura checked several deer camps that were quite successful over the weekend and saw a few respectable bucks. Violations addressed include blaze orange requirements, tag validation, and unlawful transportation of big game.

CO Jacque Johnson (Longville) checked deer hunting activity. She followed up on various hunting related concerns. Enforcement action taking on shooting a doe without a lottery permit and transporting loaded firearms.

CO Levi Brown (Staples) watched many hunters hit the woods this weekend in hope of harvesting a deer. The cold temps were a struggle for some hunters. Over the weekend, a pair of waterfowl hunters had capsized their watercraft. Brown and his partners assisted with rescuing them and bringing them back to shore.

Walker – vacant.

ATV rec officer – vacant.