District 1 – Baudette area
Last updated: 2026-02-09
CO Ben Huener (Roseau) checked anglers on Lake of the Woods and the Roseau River. Area snowmobile traffic was monitored in the Roseau/Warroad areas. Fishing remains spotty. Enforcement contacts for angling with extra lines and angling without a license.
CO Nick Bruesewitz (Karlstad) spent the week patrolling the snowmobile trails throughout the area. Enforcement action was taken for expired registration, failing to stop, trespass, and angling without license in possession. Time was spent giving the laws and ethics presentation to a snowmobile safety class.
CO Tony Hams (Warroad North) spent the week checking area anglers and following up with various complaints. Violations encountered were no license in possession and angling with extra lines.
CO Coby Fontes (Warroad South) focused most of his week on patrolling Lake of the Woods. Fontes reports that the bite has been variable, with mixed success being seen all over the lake. Fontes also attended honor guard training and followed up on ongoing cases. Enforcement action was taken for using an extra line, overlimit, no shelter license, missing trap checks, and trapping after the close of the season.
CO Nicholas Prachar (Baudette #1) worked angling activity on Lake of the Woods throughout the week. Angling activity varied throughout the week. Officer patrolled area snowmobile trails.
CO Bobby Stringer (Thief River Falls West) reports an active week as the weather presented favorable conditions. Stringer patrolled the Red Lake and Thief Rivers where anglers continue to show measured results. Snowmobile operation has increased throughout the area with some trails showing signs of significant use. Stringer wants to remind operators of registration decal display requirements on the trails. Enforcement actions for the week included no angling license in possession, trespassing on agricultural property, speeding on a snowmobile, unregistered class II ATV, and youthful passengers under 18 with no helmets.
CO Sarah Jahn (Thief River Falls East) Worked on completing annual trainings and various admin duties. Time was also spent on the sled working snowmobile traffic.
Baudette East – vacant.
Blackduck South – vacant.
Blackduck North – vacant.
District 2 – Bemidji area
Last updated: 2026-02-09
CO Tom Hutchins (Crookston) reports spending time this week riding area grant-in-aid snowmobile trails. Several operator contacts were made. Time was further spent checking ice anglers, following up on fish house related complaints, and checking ATV operators. A deer case from the 2025 firearms deer season was closed out.
CO Jamus Veit (Bemidji #1) spent the week monitoring angling on area lakes and assisting with a public safety detail in the metro. Violations for the week included angling with extra lines, fishing without a license, and possession of fillets on ice.
CO Andrew Goodman (Perham) participated in a work detail for an annual vintage snowmobile ride in southwest Becker County. Most riders did a good job of staying on trails, obey snowmobiling laws and sharing the trail. Lack of current registration for non-vintage snowmobiles was the most common violation encountered. Additional time was spent checking anglers on station lakes.
CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week checking anglers and snowmobilers in western Becker County. CO Swedberg hosted a work detail, centered around the Midnite Rider’s Old Timers ride. Violation rates were low, and there were a lot of snowmobiles that participated in the event. Other time was spent training with K9 Axel.
CO Jordan Anderson (Osage) patrolled area WMAs and WPAs. Snowmobile trails and station lakes were also patrolled.
CO Angela Warren (Mahnomen) Spent time on angling and spearing activity. The White Earth ice fishing tournament was monitored. Time was spent with White earth tribal conservation. Snowmobile activity was worked with trails being fair to good. Complaint of suspicious activity was received.
CO Bill Landmark (Moorhead) spent the week checking anglers and conducting snowmobile enforcement. Time was spent patrolling during the Midnight Rider’s Old Timers run. Many vintage sleds were observed on the trails and violation rates were low. Time was also spent assisting with the Angry Dragon’s snowmobile safety class where 28 students received their certification. Enforcement action was taken for snowmobile registration violations, illegal exhaust, and failure to stop before crossing a roadway.
CO Grey Corbus (Pelican Rapids) spent time patrolling area snowmobile trails and checking anglers on the ice. CO Corbus assisted with a snowmobile detail in Becker County for a vintage snowmobile ride. Other time was spent performing equipment maintenance and working on ongoing cases.
CO Brady Manteufel (Bagley) Patrolled the Wilton and Clearwater snowmobile trails this week and checked anglers throughout the area. Overall good registration on sleds and fishing licenses in possession was noted with only a few enforcement actions taken. Questions about lakes, licenses, and coyote hunting were also answered.
CO Ryan Schaefer (Bemidji #2) spent time this past week checking local anglers, and monitoring snowmobile activity. Time was also spent assisting other officers with an area snowmobile event. Enforcement action was taken for No fishing license in possession, failure to display ice shelter tag, and failure to display snowmobile registration.
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District 3 – Fergus Falls area
Last updated: 2026-02-09
CO Hanna Wood (Fergus Falls) spent the week focused on angling and snowmobile enforcement. Some follow-up from the deer season was also worked.
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) documented several fish house violations including fail to display shelter tag and unmarked fish houses. Ongoing cases were worked including a wetlands restoration order extension. Equipment maintenance was performed, and supplies were ordered for an upcoming safety class.
CO Ryan Brown (Elbow Lake) reports checking angling and snowmobile activity. Angling success continues to vary with most anglers reporting low success. Equipment maintenance and annual training was also completed.
CO Jake Homan (Alexandria) spent the week patrolling Douglas County for angling and snowmobile activity. Time was also spent assisting law enforcement agencies in the Twin Cities with civil unrest. Enforcement action was taken for a variety of angling violations.
CO Felicia Znajda (Osakis) worked angling and snowmobile activity. Lots of happy outdoorsmen with the recent warmer weather. Anglers had a variety of fishing success reports. Various violations encountered throughout the week.
CO Curtis Jepson (Wheaton) patrolled his station, monitoring ice fishing and trapping activity. Worked with the area hydrologist on a public water violation, for unpermitted work, and issued a resource protection notification. Reminder to consider removing ice shelters as warmer weather and ice heave build up at public access points increase.
CO Emily Douvier (Morris) reports working fishing and recreational vehicle activity. Enforcement action was taken for shelter violations. Lend borrow and failure to register deer violations were also investigated.
CO Andrew Ladzinski (Glenwood) spent his time checking anglers and snowmobilers. Anglers continue to report a slow bite. Enforcement action was taken for no license in possession and various shelter violations.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) checked snowmobiles, ATV’s, fishermen and fish houses. Injured wildlife calls were received and handled. A snowmobile safety class was scheduled.
District 4 – Walker area
Last updated: 2026-02-09
CO Michael Cross (Lake George) worked angling and snowmobile patrol throughout the week. Cross also answered calls for service and took a complaint of litter on the ice where anglers purposely put all their garbage in the ice holes to freeze overnight therefore making it very hard to remove. Please do not litter or shove your garbage down the ice holes. Enforcement action was taken for angling violations.
CO Nick Baum (Park Rapids) patrolled the area for angling and snowmobile activity. Anglers continue to have varying success around area lakes. Snowmobilers have been enjoying the area trails and local clubs have been working hard maintaining the trails. CO Baum wants to remind those venturing out on the ice to continue to check thickness and watch for unsafe ice areas with the changing weather conditions.
CO Landyn Saewert (Wadena) worked the Crow Wing chain of lakes for angling activity. Enforcement action was taken for numerous violations on the lakes. Saewert also spent time on local snowmobile trails, trails are starting to deteriorate due to the warm weather and lack of snowfall.
CO Patrick McGowan (Cass Lake) worked Leech and Mille Lacs lakes for angling activity. Enforcement action was taken for numerous violations on the lakes. CO McGowan also assisted law enforcement agencies with civil unrest in the metro area. Officer visited with numerous anglers throughout the week and was able to answer several angling related questions. Officer reminds individuals to call anytime questions arise.
CO Jack Lien (Walker) patrolled local snowmobile trails to enforce heavy riding activity, and he responded to separate reports of highway- style vehicles operating on the snowmobile trails. Due to trail damage and safety hazards, enforcement action was taken for these instances. Ice fishing activity was also worked with many groups of anglers from all over had planned fishing trip weekends on Leech Lake. Multiple angling violations were noted.
CO Levi Brown (Staples) focused on sport fishing this week. Multiple anglers were checked on local lakes with mixed success. Pan fish seemed to be most of the catches. Brown also observed many Snowmobile enthusiasts out enjoying the warm weather and decent trails. Later in the week it was apparent the warm weather diminished many of the local trails to dirt.
ATV rec officer – vacant.
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