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   At the beginning of each year and as we close out 2025 and move into 2026 our Office reviews data and statistics from the previous year as we plan for and begin to serve our communities in 2026. We often utilize the January Sheriff’s Corner to highlight some activity and numerical information from the previous year and give a glance into data that we are processing for our Annual Report that will be put together and presented in the coming months to the Cass County Board of Commissioners, published on our website, and shared with townships and municipalities throughout the county. 

   In 2025, our office handled 18,926 Calls for Service (CFS). This is our main method to document and monitor activity that comes into our Dispatch Center. There are a variety of calls for service that our dispatch center receives that require some sort of action, whether it be from a Sheriff’s Deputy, a Local Police Department, an Ambulance or Fire Department. These also include self-initiated responses from officers and reports made to track activity and investigations. Every incident that is reported to us, that we respond to, or that we come across starts with a CFS number. This number is used to track its status through our tracking and case management system and can follow the event all the way through the court process, if it is involved. This number of calls for service is slightly lower than the previous year but trending very consistent with calls and patterns that we are seeing. Our busiest hours for receiving calls for service in the 911 Dispatch center continue to be from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., with Saturday as the busiest day and most weekdays tied for the least activity. Over 97% of the calls that we receive come to our center from cellular phones and utilizing new modern technology and mapping solutions we are able to track and map those cell phones very accurately for quick response and good resolve to emergency situations. 

   The Cass County Detention Center continued to be a busy place with average daily bookings and the number of inmates housed trending normally at 3 inmates booked per day and a daily total population of 9 inmates housed at our Cass County Detention Center with the remainder being held at the Itasca County Jail in Grand Rapids, MN. Additionally, the Cass County Jail underwent biennial inspections in 2025, maintaining high compliance ratings and capital improvement operations and projects were completed. 

   Law Enforcement activity continues to be busy with motor vehicle crashes. Of the crashes involving fatalities, there were a total of 4 crashes reported with 5 fatalities. 318 total crashes were reported with 110 injury crashes and 204 crashes included property damage. 20 of the crashes involved commercial vehicles and 11 were in work zones. Motor vehicle crashes with deer continue to be high. Most crashes occurred in the month of August with the least occurring in April. Regarding calls of serious crime, the Sheriff’s Office investigated 23 serious assault cases, 57 burglaries, 0 homicides, 3 criminal vehicular operation cases, 0 kidnapping and 53 criminal sexual conduct cases in 2025.  Deputies and Investigators submitted 504 cases to the County Attorney for review, 194 cases resulted in convictions, 17 were dismissed, 85 were declined and the balance are still under review or in court proceedings. 

   Notable in 2025, Investigators assigned to the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force were busy with drug enforcement investigations and arrests. There were approximately 12 firearms seized, 20 probable cause arrests, and 18 warrant arrests completed.  Drugs seized came to 5,686.74 grams of meth (12.5 pounds approx.) with a street value worth $312,730, 15 grams of cocaine (street value 1,275), 27 grams of Psilocybin Mushrooms, 4,920 grams in marijuana. Of these drug investigations and arrests, $4,582 in US paper Currency was seized and 1 individual was federally indicted from cases that originated in Cass County or with Cass County ties. We had three overdose deaths reported and 24 medically related overdoses responded to. 

   The Recreation Division held its annual Boat and Water Safety Training course with collaborating school districts and trained and certified approximately 275 5th and 6th graders in Boat and Water safety.  As seen in previous years, Intensive high visibility patrols were conducted in high traffic areas on known busy weekends and holidays. While still providing education, hundreds of contacts were made and verbal warnings and citations were issued. We assisted with 4 ATV Safety Training courses and enforcement efforts have definitely proven to be beneficial. We are happy to report that zero ATV related fatalities were reported. Although 19 ATV with injury crashes were reported and investigated. While this number is high, it’s significantly lower than previous years during COVID. One snowmobile fatality was reported and 5 snowmobile with injury crashes were reported and investigated. 

   While this is just a brief glimpse into 2025 activity and  the operations of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office in 2025, as we gather data and build our Annual Report many more factors will be summarized and put together to be published in our Annual Report available on our County website at https://www.casscountymn.gov/1450/Newsroom 

   If you have specific questions that you would like answered in this column or in person, please feel free to contact me anytime using one of the following methods:

   Email: [email protected]

   Phone: (218) 547-1424  1 (800) 450-2677

   By Mail/In Person:

Cass County Sheriff’s Office, 303 Minnesota Ave W, PO Box 1119,

Walker, MN 56484

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