Busy news girl!

It has been a busy couple of weeks for this Messenger news girl. But, it is just not all work and no play for this reporter. OK, well, it is all work. Don't tell my boss I have fun doing my job. But then again, a wise person once said, if you love your job, you will never work a day in your life.

So I thought I would share a little of the behind the scenes what I have been up to in the last few weeks.

I wrote an article a couple weeks ago about a gal who is learning to shoot. Amy Doyle, of Brainerd, is a transplanted city girl, she said. Making the move to the north country has been great for her. She is having fun trying different outdoorsy things. One of the items on her list was learning to shoot.

I followed Amy to Wealthwood Rod and Gun Club just north of Garrison. The story published in the Oct. 10 edition of the Messenger mentioned two girls who learned to shoot that day. I didn't mention the second gal in the story and no body questioned who the second gal was. Either no body read the story or they just didn't pay attention.

I was the second gal learning to shoot that day under the patient direction of Bill Carroll.




Bill said I was a quick study and took to shooting like a duck to water. We started out in the simulator shooting blanks at a movie screen. Then moved outside to the skeet area and then on to the trap area.

I shot 20 rounds and hit 16 of them. Not bad shooting, I guess. (Usually you shoot 25, but that is all the time we had.)


The Garrison Fire Department open house was a huge success. I am guessing there were about 200 people who came to visit with the fire fighters and emergency crews on hand Saturday, Oct. 13. I have seen a lot of those guys and gals in action fighting real fires and on the scenes of accidents. They all deserve a standing ovation for their dedication to the job. A volunteer job at that.

So, thank you Garrison Fire and Rescue!

While on the assignment I had the opportunity to learn about the Crow Wing County Bomb Squad. Who knew there was such a thing in central Minnesota? Certainly not me.

Deputy Tim Moe filled me in on all the things they can do with the robots like disarming bombs and armed bad guys in hostile situations.

Then he let me try on the bomb suit.



First they helped me into the jacket and tightened it up. I could hardly move my arms. Let alone bend over to even attempt to try on the pants. I knew if I fell down, there would be no way I could ever get up. I would be like that kid in the "Christmas Story" wearing the snow suit — laying in the snow, screaming for help.


Next the plopped that helmet on my head and strapped that on tight as well.

I heard Sheriff Todd Dahl's muffled voice through the thick insulation of the helmet saying, "tuck your chin down." He explained if the guys on the squad do not tuck their chin down inside the collar of the jacket, if a bomb were to detinate, shrapnel can get up inside the helmet. Not a good thing.

Then they told me to run down to the corner and back.

Not on your life. I made it to the end of the truck before I started getting claustrophobic. Hyperventilating in a bomb suit helmet is not a good thing. At least there were paramedics close by, should I need one, which I didn't. Thank goodness.

Bomb squad techies in traning wear that suit — pants, jacket and helmet — for ten hours a day in heat, rain and cold. Heat is the worst, but no matter what the outdoor temperature is, it hets up quickly in that suit when you are just standing there. I can't imagine adding ones own body heat caused by stress and endorphin releasing adrenalin of a real life situation. Deputy Tim explained the suit is rated for 8 pounds of explosive at a distance of ten feet. Any more explosive, or closer, and it could be fatal. "At least the suit will hold all the pieces together and there will be something to bury," Tim said.

Not a pleasant thought. Tim knows there is great risk in being a member of the bomb squad. But it is a risk he is willing to take in the name of public safety.




Thanks Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office.

Just last week, I hung out with the Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Office for an afternoon. The story of the pursuit driving training course will be published in an upcoming edition of the Messenger. (Oct. 31). So I can't let the whole story out of the bag. But I can tell you I learned a lot about my own driving. Here is a little peek behind the scenes that you will not see in next weeks printed edition.

Keeping your hands on the wheel, in the position of 9 and 3 o'clock with the thumbs resting on the wheel in an up position on the wheel is important. You actually do have better control over the vehicle. I know. Because Sheriff Brent Lindgren let me try it. Deputy Dan Holada gave me a lesson in how to hold the wheel and drive the course.

I drove slowly at first — yes, a real squad car — and then added lights and siren as I picked up speed. "Adding the lights and siren actually helps you concentrate," Dan said. "It increases stress and adrenalin."

It did. My heart rate increased and I could feel the tension in my hands while I gripped the sterring wheel. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins.




The hardest part for me was my hands getting mixed up. I was trying hard to drive with my hands at 9 and 3 and letting the hand not doing the turn slide through the wheel. I am used to doing the cross-over thing — not recommended anymore.
But keeping my hands at 9 and 3 really held control of the vehicle while going through the serpentine element of the course.

Apparently, I have some trust issues. At one point in the course the driver is suppose to brake hard, then immediately excelerate to 30 mph within a distance of less than 75 feet. That means pedel to the metal — literally. Then Dan said he would tell me when to brake and I should not hit the brake before he told me. The problem (my problem) is the braking piont was in a curve. A sharp curve.

"Just trust me," Dan said. "I wont let you brake to late."

At slow speeds, I trusted Dan. At faster speeds, I had a hard time trusting him. My instincts were to brake sooner. Which is fine for driving to soccer practice, but not so good when you are a cop in an amergency pursuit situation. Good thing I will only be driving to soccer practice.

Although I had a blast driving a squad car, and watching the guys go through their training — also having fun — pursuit driving is dangerous. The training is important. Pursuit driving is rated number two for officer on the job fatalities. Number one is death by gunfire.

They wouldn't let me drive the squad car off the enclosed parking lot. So I got in my Jeep and drove home with no lights or siren. Slowly. Within the speed limit, anyway. With my hands at 9 and 3.

Thanks to Sheriff Brent Lindgren, Deputy Dan Holada and the Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Office.




So there you have a quick glimpse behind the scenes - a day in the life of a reporter. It is not all work and it is not all fun and games. But then again, sometimes it is.

Peace!