By Tyler Trieglaff

Notes from the Chief

Notes from the Farm… The magic number is 16 calves on the ground. It should be 17, but one woke up dead the other morning. Quite a loss when a 10-day-old calf is laying in the pasture cold and out of life. The calf showed no signs of sickness or injury so we are not sure what happened. His mama is a beautiful four-year-old cow that will now go down the road.  

We were moving the new heifers to a new pen last week when one of the eight wasn’t up with the rest of the herd. I walked up to her and by-gum, there was a calf hanging out.  The head and one leg were exposed which is not good. Calves are born front feet first, then the head and shoulders. The corral pen area was still wet and muddy so that made it harder to get the gates open into the corral with the headgate and chute. I was able to get her in the chute and locked in the headgate. The calf’s tongue was hanging out of its mouth and I for sure was planning to pull a dead calf. As I was walking away to get the puller, the DA spoke up and told dad that the calf was still alive. 

I heard that and muttered some nonsense under my breath as there was no way I thought that calf was still alive. Well shoot if it was alive, I saw him blink an eye and his tongue was moving. Now for the work to begin.  

With only one leg showing, I knew the other leg was stuck in the birth canal or still in the uterus. Being this was a smaller heifer the birth canal was not that big. As I was trying to push the calf back inside, mama herself was pushing against me. I knew I might need a little assistance so I sent the DA to the barn to get the gallon jug of vet lube. I was slowly gaining on mama and I was finally able to feel for the other front leg. With the help of some of the lubricants, I was able to slip one arm past the pelvis bone and I finally could grab hold of the front forearm of the calf. I had to switch arms to get the right angle to grab the leg, being elbow deep in amniotic fluid.  

After several attempts the leg started to slowly come toward the pelvic opening and I was able to get the hoof up and out where I could get ahold of the foreleg. Dad grabbed a piece of twine string and I was barely able to get that on the front hoof. Things are extremely slippery and it is tricky to get a hold of the leg when it is so slippery. Once the twine was on the leg, I applied a little pressure and the calf popped right out. We moved him to a dry area and had to help him get his breathing going. Tickling his nose, moving your fingers in his mouth and stimulating his chest area like CPR are ways to get a new calf to breathe.  

After a couple minutes of these strategies, it seemed that he was going to make it. The best sign is when the newborn calf gives his head with wet floppy ears a good shake.  Mama was turned out of the chute and did not show much interest at first, but eventually took to cleaning her new baby. We had milk mama the first night to get some colostrum into the little guy’s tummy and after that we put mama in the chute to teach him how to suckle on his own. By the time the second day rolled around, the little guy was up and drinking on his own. We kept them together for a couple more days before we turned them into the larger pen with the steers. We wanted to make sure mama and baby knew the drill before they were with the larger herd. Other good news is that the put on calf we bought last week has been adopted by his new mama and they are doing well also.  Just a quick review of a few days last week on the farm with more to come.

Friday, April 11

2:42 p.m. Resident reporting possible fraud on her bank account. 

4:07 p.m. Report of a juvenile male walking on Co Hwy 10 carrying a TV and bag, possibly running away, told caller that he was waiting for his brother. Juvenile was gone by the time officer arrived.

6:41 p.m. Suspicious vehicle parked by the lumber piles on Main Ave E. Driver said he was looking at his phone and wanted to park in the shade.

8:30 p.m. Report from Otter Tail County of a suspicious vehicle in the Wymer Lake area. Officer found the vehicle in Frazee and talked with the owner of the vehicle. Information sent to Otter Tail County Deputy.

10:42 p.m. Traffic stop with warning for RR cross arm violation.

Saturday, April 12

12:47 a.m. Open doors and lights on at the concessions buildings by the ball fields.  Officer turned the lights off and locked all the doors.

10:27 p.m. Male and female reporting of threats being made over text messages.  Another female was texting both parties. Officer told the complainants to block the number and stop replying. Female who was sending the messages was upset that the male was living with two females and having relations with both, one of whom the other female claims is the male’s half sibling. No specific threats were made.

11:52 p.m. 911 hang-up in an apartment building. Call was accidental made by a child.

Sunday, April 13

1:41 p.m. Report of a suicidal male. Male was determined to not be a threat to himself or others.

2:58 p.m. Resident complaining about smoke coming into their apartment.

7:55 p.m. Female reporting being harassed by a male party since she left the situation yesterday. Officer told the male to leave the female alone. Male was not cooperative and claimed the female was his wife.  

Monday, April 14

7:23 a.m. Assist with an open door on a building north on Co Hwy 29.

3:22 p.m. Assist with getting a resident a ride to the hospital.

5:44 p.m. Fender bender in the alley behind the bank.

8:54 p.m. Assist with getting a resident a ride home from the hospital.

9:47 p.m. Assist with a medical.

11:26 p.m. Assist with a resident whose car had mechanical issues.

11:37 p.m. Vehicle in Wannigan Park after hours. Officer let park attendee that the park was closed.

Tuesday, April 15

12:23 p.m. Mother from South Carolina claiming that her deceased daughters former boyfriend was posting explicit videos online. Boyfriend now is in Frazee. Videos were posted when male was in South Carolina and with the consent of the deceased party as they made the videos together. Any potential crimes would have been committed in SC, officer relayed that information to mom. 

8:26 p.m. Wife calling in that her husband was at the baseball game and was not home yet. Male arrived home before officer got to the house.

8:31 p.m. Assist with serving civil papers.

9:34 p.m. Traffic stop for no headlights. There is a court order between the driver and passenger. Summer White, 29, Brainerd, arrested for DANCO violation.

Wednesday, April 16

9:28 p.m. 11-year-old male caught shoplifting from the gas station. Dad was notified and agreed to pay for the items.

4:41 p.m. Cell phone found by the high school. Officer was able to track down the owner and return the phone.

5:38 p.m. Officer witnessed a minor fender bender in the gas station parking lot. No major damage, parties did not need to exchange information.

6:55 p.m. Report of two dogs in a yard on 2nd St SE. One dog owner cited with a city admin citation and the other received a state citation.

Thursday, April 17

9:39 a.m. Vehicle broke down on Juniper Ave W. Owner will ger vehicle later in the day.

8:52 p.m. Female called to the office with the concern that her ex was in town and she was concerned. Female asked if officer could be in the area so she could walk to the store. Officer went to the area and watched as the female walked safely to the store and back to her apartment.