By Tyler Trieglaff

Notes from the Chief

Notes from the Farm… 67 calves is the magic number this week. I believe there are 12 to go, give or take one or so. We did lose a calf this week, in the business we call it, “born dead.” Fully developed but un-alive when we found it in the morning.  

A couple things may have caused this one to not make it. One is suffocating on the placenta after it is born. The other thought is that the whole bunch of cows were huddled in some brush and bushes during the three-day rain, and it could have been stepped on.  

Once again, one of the saddest things to do on a farm is to drag the dead calf through the pasture with mama following. I was able to get her and the calf into the corral to allow some mourning for mama. We did find another put-on calf from a local dairy farmer, so mama does have a baby this year. We will leave them penned together for a few days, so they fall in love with each other. I also tagged the calf with the same number as mama, so they know who belongs to who.  

The bulls all passed their annual Bull Soundness Exams graded as Satisfactory.  Categories of classification are Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory or Deferred. Satisfactory is passing, Unsatisfactory means that a bull should be on the way to the hamburger pen and a Deferred bull could stand for a retest. Normally I would say that 90 percent of our bulls pass as satisfactory. We use this form of testing as a pretty good insurance policy to get a high percentage of cows bred by the fall. The bulls are in their still separate pen as many of the cows that calved in April could be coming into heat if they haven’t already.  The bulls will be on vacation until the Fourth of July or later. The later we keep the bulls home, the later the calving season will be next year, hopefully avoiding any bad weather.

Friday, May 16

6:26 a.m. Male reporting he thinks he lost his phone in town somewhere. The same phone number is associated with a crash detection the night before by the golf course.  This information was relayed to the male who then went to the area of the golf course to look for the phone.

8:58 a.m. Traffic stop for speed warning.

10 a.m. Officer’s presence requested at the elementary school for a child who was running away from staff.

11:03 a.m. Vehicle owner called to ask for assistance as his vehicle was damaged and it had been parked in town at one point before the damage. Officer went to the business to ask about camera footage.

3:12 p.m. Report of a dog being mistreated. Officer talked with dog owner and saw no signs of distress in the dog.

6:09 p.m. Report of a missing U Haul trailer. Trailer was rented and dropped off at a dealer in Aitkin, Minn.  

7:41 p.m. Assist a female and two kids with a flat tire.

9:27 p.m. Traffic stop with DWI arrest of Duane Poppenga, 65, Frazee. 

Saturday, May 17

8:56 p.m. Report of three large explosions on the east end of town. Most likely Tannerite.

Sunday, May 18

7:36 p.m. Report of a dog that was making some pedestrians nervous. Officer located dog owner who lived in the county and notified them of the complaint. 

10:13 p.m. Assist with a domestic disturbance on 310th Ave.

Monday, May 19

8:03 a.m. Traffic stop with warning for window tint. Officer also talked with driver about a driving complaint from the bus company last week.

12:36 p.m. Report of missing prescription medication.  

1:16 p.m. Resident came to the PD asking how to get his car back as he thought it was towed by the police. Frazee did not tow the vehicle, it was found at a neighbor’s house.

3:43 p.m. Employee from survey company called in to report that they would be surveying some property in case the residents got squirrelly.

9:52 p.m. Traffic stop for stop sign violation.

Tuesday, May 20

10:39 a.m. Assist a business with picking up unwanted/unused medication.

10:53 a.m. Nebraska ID turned into police office.

4:40 p.m. Traffic stop for poor driving conduct.

Wednesday, May 21

12:20 a.m. Traffic stop for suspicious activity. Passenger was getting a ride for a cleaning job.

10:47 a.m. Resident called with questions about driving status.

5:01 p.m. Assist with a suspicious activity call in Detroit Lakes. Male driver rammed two squad cars and almost ran over a deputy. Suspect was in custody with Frazee officer arrived. Officer assisted at the ER with safety and security.

7:51 p.m. Request for a vehicle unlock. Officer declined to try to unlock the vehicle as the window did not have a frame around it, due to a rag top style car. No frame around the window may cause the window to shatter.  

Thursday, May 22

6:41 a.m. Assist with a fire in a fiber optic box behind the post office. 

10:47 a.m. Report of harassment by an outside person to a local business. Person had called the business hundreds of times this morning and would hang up when the phone was answered. Under investigation. 

9:22 p.m. Officer visited with a tenant in regards to their garage which is in need of repair and overflowing with debris. Officer noted that much of the refuse had been hauled away.