I have been serving the citizens of Red Wing and Goodhue County for 34 years with the last 4 years as your Sheriff. During that time, I have seen our profession evolve in ways we never would have imagined when I first began in 1989. I have served through 5 decades with one guiding principle and am proud to say that - Treating people the way you would want to be treated - has served me well. 

 

I am a proud father of five children and grandfather to twins. My wife, Mary of 32 years, is my rock and stabilizing force. We live on a hobby farm in Hay Creek Township where we raise beef cattle for fun and 4H projects. 

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Leading our office through the civil unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic was difficult but we see hope and are stronger for it. Covid-19 essentially shut down our Adult Detention Center (ADC) and, like every employer and Sheriff’s Office in the county, we are now facing staffing shortages. With colleges experiencing record low enrollment in their Law Enforcement Programs, we need to find ways to attract quality people to the office. Our current ADC staff are superheroes for stepping up and filling shifts when needed. Our dispatchers are at full staffing levels, but they do answer many calls and do other tasks keeping them extremely busy and for that, I am grateful. Patrol staff has increased traffic stops and DUI’s to a level not seen in years and their initiative is remarkable. I applaud them, especially during these times of tension and uncertainty. 

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Having been your sheriff since 2019, I have implemented many changes within our office and change can be difficult. However, one of the changes involved budgeting priorities. The county works on a limited budget and I am proud to say that we have been good stewards of our taxpayers’ dollars. We have been able to come under our budget by 1.9 million dollars. Even with these impressive numbers we prioritized our training budget and fully funded programs that have resulted in a highly trained force. 

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Mental health and substance abuse has also been a priority of mine. When I started, we had no patrol deputies trained in Critical Incident Training (CIT). We now have 13. We also implemented a Peer Support Team and Chaplain Program in our office. Another narcotics officer has been added to our task force and we began an outpatient treatment program though Minnesota Teen Challenge in our ADC. 

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Finally, our investigative unit along with the help of the MN BCA, was able to solve two, tragic 20-year-old death cases in which babies were found on the banks of the Mississippi River. This was accomplished by the dedication and hard work of both our current staff along with those before us. 

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We appreciate that our citizens have embraced our deputies and police officers even more during these difficult times. It is commonplace for any one of us to hear “Thank you for your service.” We appreciate our citizens and want to serve you. We have emphasized community engagement and you have seen us out into our communities at an unprecedented level. 

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I look forward to building upon the relationships we currently have and those we have yet to establish. Thank you for the honor of being your Sheriff and I and would appreciate your support in November.

 

Sincerely,

Marty