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By Rin Porter

First elected in 2006, Todd

County Sheriff Pete Mikkelson is

running to win a second term in

this falls election. The sheriff

sat down with this reporter in

late July to talk about his first

four years as sheriff and what he

would like to accomplish if he is

re-elected. He would like your

vote because he believes he has

done a good job as sheriff, he hasbeen financially responsible with

the budget of the Sheriffs

Department, and he has helped

the department to progress in

different ways.

Mikkelson says he has done

his best to be accessible to the

public as sheriff. I have an open

door policy, he explained.

Each day I return every phone

call and every email. Ill meetwith anyone who wants to come

and see me. Ive been visible to

the public through the media

and at public events like our

booth at the county fair and the

town parades. Ive worked to

keep the public informed

through our monthly newsletter

and our website. Ive managed

my staff well and provided excel-

lent public safety services to the

public.

Mikkelson has been financial-

ly responsible with his budget

during his four years as sheriff.

One of the most important duties

of a sheriff each year is to pro-pose a budget to the county

board, and monitor that budget

each year. With around 50

employees, a fleet of vehicles, a

large inventory of specialized

equipment, a 52-bed jail, and a

large office, the Sheriffs

Department budget is big and

complicated.

During the past four years,

there has been virtually no

change in the number of person-nel employed by the Sheriffs

Department. The main increas-

es in the budget have been due to

changes in personnel costs and

upgrades in technology.

We apply for state grants for

various purposes, and that

brings money in, he said. To

increase the departments rev-

enue, Mikkelson has negotiated

with the State of Minnesota and

with other counties to bring in

inmates to fill the beds in the

Todd County Jail.

Typically we earn $550 per

day by housing an average of 10

state inmates. Each one isscheduled to go to boot camp

after his or her sentence, which

gives them an incentive to

behave well. We also hold

inmates for Pope County, which

currently does not have a jail.

We house about five inmates for

Pope County and other counties

each day, at $55 per day, for anoth-

A community newspaper serving Browerville, MN and surrounding areas. USPS 067-560

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Volume 98; Number 9

www.bladepublishing.net

Wed. Aug. 11

Mostly Sunny

86/64

Thur. Aug. 12

T-Storms

85/65

Fri. Aug. 13

T-Storms

84/64

Sat, Aug. 14

T-Storms

77/56

Sun. Aug. 15

Mostly Sunny

77/57

Mon. Aug. 16

Mostly Sunny

77/54

Tue. Aug. 17

Mostly Sunny

73/53

Wed. Aug. 18

Showers

74/55

WEEKLY WEATHER REPORT

Two file for SheriffMikkelson seeking re-election

A joyous Babe Ruth Team was escorted home by the Browerville Fire Department and numerous fans after clinching the State Championship on August 8t

nset photo: Paul, Benton, and Kelli Johnson put up a congratulations sign just prior to the teams arrival. See story and additioanl photos on page 12.

odd County Sheriff Pete Mikkelson.

75

Babe Ruth State ChampionsContinued on page 12