Sheriff's Office Newsletter - August 2022

August 2022 Newsletter (Volume 8, Issue 8)

To view each of the different stories in the newsletter, please click on the title below.

Join us for Night to Unite!

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office and Rochester Police Department will be celebrating Night to Unite, also known as National Night Out on Tuesday, August 2.

People across the country will join forces to promote neighborhood unity and law enforcement-community partnerships.

Deputies will be visiting neighborhood celebrations in the Cities of Byron, Dover, Eyota, Oronoco, Pine Island, and Stewartville as well as Marion, Viola and Cascade Townships along with other first responders to give neighbors and communities the chance to get to know each other, increase awareness of crime, and drug and violence prevention in their community. We hope to see you!

Behind the Lens

Captain Tim Parkin

In 2017 Olmsted County Sheriff's Office created a new Media Development Specialist position. Kyle Bradt filled this position. The newly designed job was a work in progress but included creating digital content solutions using multiple mediums, media relations and public information, community engagement, and internal communication content.

Kyle's work has set the gold standard in this position by working with internal and external websites, applications, and forms of social media. He has designed digital media that is considered top-notch. And not just by using one platform. Kyle creates new and unique work on display on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and more.  For example, Kyle has grown the sheriff’s office Facebook page from 5,000 followers in 2017, to over 19,000 in 2022.

Kyle has evolved this position into a resource for all county departments. While it is difficult to name all of the assistance Kyle has offered to others, here are a few examples. In the fall of 2020, he assisted Olmsted County with updating its website to make it user-friendly and easier to navigate. In 2021 Kyle helped Olmsted PAC (Planning, Analysis, and Communications) Team with video projects, including designing a video for commission boards. Kyle also assisted the Parks department with videos for public content. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Olmsted County Public Health and OCSO extensively used Kyle to create and distribute general information that aided the public in knowing about testing areas, safety protocols, and more. 

Kyle has created content that allows people to see what it is like to be a deputy. Kyle worked with one of our deputies and made a documentary covering why the deputy chose to work here their values, and more. The video shows why OCSO is a great place to work, humanizes law enforcement, and shows our deputy's compassion and conviction.

In 2022, Kyle was nominated for and received the Media Award by MADD for his statewide contributions to bringing attention to the impacts of impaired driving. The nomination referenced Kyles going above and beyond creating quality traffic safety messages. He worked with local and state groups to create video content that shared a mother's story about her daughter being killed by a drunk driver. Kyle also highlighted distracted driving and the positive impacts of wearing a seatbelt.

When asked about working in and helping to create this new position, Kyle's response is: "It's been a pleasure helping promote the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office over the past five years. The men and women who work for the Sheriff’s Office do an amazing job protecting and serving all in Olmsted County, and I believe it's important for everyone to know about all the great things they do. Social media is also valuable for our office to pass along safety tips, crime prevention information, and more to help inform the public. I look forward to continuing to assist the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office in informing those who live, work and visit Olmsted County through communications."

Thank you to Kyle for highlighting the great work that all staff at the Sheriff’s Office does daily. And thank you for all your hard work and dedication, allowing everyone to experience what the Sheriff’s Office is involved with.

Links to videos created by Kyle:

TZD - Holiday DWI Video: "My career as a Deputy started and ended because of a drunk driver." - YouTube

Riding Along with Olmsted County Deputy Amos: Riding Along with Olmsted County Deputy Sheriff Courtney Amos - YouTube

Foundations in Manufacturing Class

Corporal Cory Sherman

The Olmsted County Adult Detention Center celebrated it’s first Foundations in Manufacturing graduating class on June 30, 2022. 

Foundations in Manufacturing is a three-week entry-level college course that will allow participants to explore potential careers in manufacturing, while learning the basic skills it takes to be successful. Topics include: Manufacturing Math, Measuring Tools, Blueprint Reading, Manufacturing Terms, and Basic Safety. The course is a grant-funded collaboration between Minnesota State College Southeast and Workforce Development to bring the program to incarcerated individuals. The class was taught in person and via ZOOM using our new video conferencing enabled classrooms. We had six participants complete the class. Graduates of the course receive:

• Two certificates of completion from Minnesota State College Southeast for Manufacturing 101 and OSHA 10 for General Industry plus Critical Soft Skills for Employment
• One college credit from Minnesota State College Southeast
• One nationally recognized certification: OSHA 10 for General Industry  

We had a lot of positive feedback from the instructors and students. One student wrote a letter after the course to say how much he appreciated the opportunity. This student was a veteran who had been homeless and stated in his letter that he did not expect to be homeless again.

Many thanks to Minnesota State College Southeast, Workforce Development, the IT Department, and Sergeant Limpert who worked hard to make everything come together. We are looking forward to the next opportunity to present the course.

They Got Caught!

Deputies have been handing out “citations” to youth caught wearing their helmets while biking. Each citation featured a free ice cream cone from Dairy Queen.  Keep up the great work kids!

Dates of Interest

August 1

Oronoco Township Meeting

Pleasant Grove Township Meeting

Quincy Township Meeting

Rochester City Council Meeting

August 2

Elmira Township Meeting

High Forest Township Meeting

Night to Unite

Olmsted County Board Meeting

August 3

Salem Township Meeting

August 4

Dover City Council Meeting

August 8

Cascade Township Meeting

Chatfield City Council Meeting

Orion Township Meeting

Rock Dell Township Meeting

August 9

Byron City Council Meeting

Marion Township Meeting

New Haven Township Meeting

Stewartville City Council Meeting

August 11

Eyota City Council Meeting

Rochester Township Meeting

August 15

Eyota Township Meeting

Kalmar Township Meeting

Rochester City Council Meeting

August 16

Farmington Township Meeting

Olmsted County Board Meeting

Oronoco City Council Meeting

Pine Island City Council Meeting

August 17

Haverhill Township Meeting

August 22

Chatfield City Council Meeting

Viola Township Meeting

August 23

Byron City Council Meeting

Spring Awards Program

Stewartville City Council Meeting

August 25

Eyota City Council Meeting

Olmsted County Fire Meeting

Olmsted County Township Association Meeting

August 29

Dover Township Meeting

Senior Administration 

Sheriff

Kevin Torgerson

Chief Deputy of Adult Detention Center

Brian Howard

Captains

David Adams

Samantha Reps

Macey Tesmer

Chief Deputy of Law Enforcement Center

Terry Waletzki

Captains

Mike Bromberg

Jon Jacobson

Tim Parkin

James Schueller

Chris Wallace

Executive Assistant

Laura Collins