By Tyler Trieglaff

Notes from the Chief

Notes from the Chief…With school starting I should let you know of a new Minnesota law regarding school busses vehicles stopping when the bus is picking up or dropping off the kiddos.  “Drivers must now stop at least 20 feet from a school bus as soon as its red lights begin flashing, regardless of whether the stop-arm is fully extended.  This replaces the previous rule, which required stopping only when both the red lights were flashing and the stop-arm was fully deployed.”  We always seem to have a few stop arm violations each school year.  This new law helps clarify when to stop and will hopefully make the bus stops safer for the students.

Notes from the Farm….   Fall calving is progressing slowly.  The calves are dropping here and there because we didn’t have a specific date we put the bulls in with the cows.  This fall I think we will keep those cows separate until Thanksgiving time, that should give us a September 1st starting date and hopefully keep the calving window shorter.  

I was checking on the cows Friday morning and found one cows with some afterbirth hanging but her calf was not around.  I began to think of a stillborn calf, but noticed that both front quarters looked like they had been sucked on.  Mama was a little concerned with the dogs that were with so that made me think that the calf was alive somewhere.  I looked in the immediate area but did not find the calf.  I gave mom a little incentive to get moving and she started to walk away from where the other cows were.  

Eventually she stopped near the edge of the swamp. I walked up and the new calf was hiding in the tall grass and willow bush.  It looked like it was doing ok so I let it be.  I could have gotten an ear tag for it, but mama had that look in her eye that I best leave them alone.  By the time I got back to the Ranger, the baby was up and all looked good. That is calf number 73 for the year (+/- 1 or 2).  We still have two cows that have not calved from the spring herd which is not normal.  

We did find a dead calf under a wagon out in the pasture that had been there for a month or more.  We did not notice any mama cows standing by the area so we are baffled as to what happened.  It was either a still born, a twin that was not accepted or it got caught under the wagon and could not get out. That is one of the mysteries on the farm, they will always find a new way to off themselves. 

Friday Sept. 4

11:36 a.m. Vehicle rolled from the gas pumps and hit a road sign.

9:51 p.m. Report of an impaired driver. Unable to locate.

10:02 p.m. Male party called 911 to ask if kids selling lemonade was legal. The kids left and he said he did not need an answer anymore. (We usually don’t have an issue with kids and their lemonade stands unless they reach a felony level.)

Saturday Sept. 5

2:48 p.m. Parking complaint on Ash Ave W. Officer called the vehicle owner and visited about a better place to park.

9:17 p.m. Traffic complaint with warning to an adult male for no lights on his bicycle. 

Sunday Sept. 6

6:23 p.m. Resident called to report that she accidently threw some items in the recycle bins and would be dumpster diving to get them back.

6:57 p.m. Report that someone left clothes at the laundromat. Officer called the person who left the clothes and let them know.

Monday Sept. 7

4:08 p.m. Report of a small vehicle in the way of a delivery truck. Business was able to get their product.

4:17 p.m. Report of an open business door. Officer called the owner and the building was secured.

Tuesday Sept. 8

12:54 p.m. Wallet turned into the city office. Officer delivered the wallet to the residence.

8:01 p.m. Report of concern of the welfare of some children. Kids were gone by the time officer arrived.

8:47 p.m. Female worried that her husband left and did not leave a note. Husband returned from the high school game a short time later.

Wednesday Sept. 9

8:37 p.m. Officer found some junior high age boys at the lake riding their bike down the grassy knoll, across the street and into the water at the boat ramp. Officer cautioned about swimming in that area and left the boys to their fun. (only possible crime was one of the boys was riding and swimming in his Underoos) Officer did have to watch one of them take the ride before he left them to their fun and games. ‘Merica!!!

7:09 p.m. Officer received a call from a 17-year-old that did not feel safe at home.  Officer talked with the party about options as to where to stay and how to handle things with mom and dad.

7:09 p.m. Traffic stop for stop sign violation.

9:14 p.m. Report of a disturbance on Main Ave East with a female and child screaming.  Officer went to the area and found several family members playing on a trampoline.

Thursday Sept. 10

11:01 a.m. Report of damage to the water fountain at the beach pavilion as well as damage to an outlet. Under investigation.

5:48 p.m. Fire alarm at the school. The concession stand was using the fire alarm as a timer again. 

8:57 p.m. Fender bender in the high school parking lot.

(Tyler Trieglaff is the Chief of Police in Frazee and an award-winning beef farmer. Blue Line Farm was awarded the 2025 Outstanding Conservationist of the Year by the Minnesota Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts)