District 6 - Two Harbors CO Sean Williams (Ely #1) reports trail conditions improved greatly over the week as crews finally caught up. Snowmobile traffic was again high into the weekend following a wild swing in temperatures. Violations included failure to display snowmobile registration and snowmobile speed.
CO Brent Ihnen (Ely #2) spent time this week checking anglers and patrolling for snowmobiling activity. Additional time was spent monitoring fish house compliance on area lakes and accesses. Ihnen also attended training at Camp Ripley.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) worked a detail along the U.S./Canada border. He attended annual training at Camp Ripley. Enforcement action was taken for angling and snowmobile violations.
CO Hudson Ledeen (Hovland) spent time earlier in the week attending training at Camp Ripley. Ledeen reports that snowmobile trails remain in fantastic condition and several riders were out enjoying the great conditions over the weekend. Enforcement action was taken for varying violations.
CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) attended a departmental meeting. Much time was spent this week working snowmobile enforcement with the quality trail conditions and high traffic. Time was spent patrolling with CO Lawler over a large swath of northeastern Minnesota. Bermel is happy to report that all groups encountered seemed to be operating with due care, staying in control, and on their side of the trail. Enforcement action was taken for snowmobile speed, no non-resident trail pass, failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to display registration, and many instances of loud, illegal exhaust.
COMeganFranzen(Silver Bay) spent the week primarily monitoring angling and snowmobile activity. Time was also spent working alongside other officers on Lake of the Woods.Variousviolations were encountered regarding angling and snowmobile regulations.
CO Trent Anderson (Tofte) spent time patrolling lakes and trails for angling and snowmobile activity. Trail conditions were quite good despite heavy use. Annual training was attended. Enforcement action was taken for a variety of angling and snowmobile-related violations.
CO Cassie Block (Two Harbors) spent time this week patrolling area snowmobile trails. Block also responded to various complaints. Time was also spent completing training.
District 5 - Eveleth area CO Paul Kennedy (International Falls #1) monitored angling and snowmobile activity throughout the week and assisted with a detail on Lake of the Woods. Kennedy attended the awards ceremony held at Camp Ripley. He also worked at the annual Sportfishing Club’s Ice Fishing Derby on Rainy Lake. Enforcement action was taken for various angling and snowmobile registration violations.
CO Curtis Simonson (International Falls #2) reports working area lakes and rivers this past week. Anglers reported having some success throughout the week. Snowmobile trail conditions throughout the area remain good in some areas and some parts of trail systems have become rough and have lost snow.
CO John Slatinski IV (Ray) reports snowmobile trails continue to be holding up well but are likely to suffer if the predicted weather holds true. There are still plenty of people hoping for more snow and an extension to the season. Angling activity is in a bit of lull with success reports less than stellar. Snowmobile exhaust violations continue to be addressed.
CO Troy Fondie (Orr) reports attending division training, completing computer- based training, and continuing to check local lakes, with little activity noted. Snowmobile trails continue to erode and are poor in condition. A week of above-freezing temps should further reduce what little snow is left.
CO Sean Cannon (Cook) spent time this week monitoring snowmobile activity and checking anglers. The trails were extremely busy this week into the weekend and are starting to get beat up. With the forecasted temps this week snowmobiling may be over in the area if we don’t get more snow.
CO Aaron Larson (Tower) spent time checking for angling activity and snowmobile activity. Angler numbers have decreased significantly with the close of the walleye season. Time was also spent at annual training.
CO Marc Johnson (Hibbing) primarilyworked snowmobile, ATV, and angling activity. Angling activity has significantly decreased, and warm days have left the snowmobile trails in rough shape. Local anglers may still have a couple more weeks to remove their permanent shelters from the ice, but many have already decided to remove theirs with an even warmer forecast upon us.
