Dakota County accepts $34,000 donation for sheriff—s employee wellness program

The Dakota County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 4 to accept a $34,000 donation to the Sheriff—s Office from a private foundation and amend the 2025 sheriff—s budget to record the gift.

Chief Deputy (Dakota County Sheriff—s Office) told commissioners the donation was offered by a foundation identified during the presentation as a 501(c)(3) based in Stillwater, Minnesota and intended to support employee wellness initiatives. He described existing and planned programs the funds will supplement, including annual biometrics and blood testing, a fitness-for-duty physical benchmark, Rally wellness challenges, the Sigma tactical cardiovascular screening initiated in 2024, required annual psychological visits for correctional and licensed staff, a peer support team, critical-incident debriefs, Guardian Tracking early-warning software, an office chaplain and a Wills for Hero volunteer event for new employees.

"I had an employee come to me on Friday and thank us for implementing the program. I quote, 'you saved my life,'" the chief deputy said, describing feedback from the Sigma cardiovascular screenings.

The chief deputy said the Sheriff—s Office previously received a separate donation from the same foundation that funded a drug-detection K-9 now working in the county jail. He said the $34,000 is intended to supplement ongoing wellness work aimed at reducing occupational health disparities in law enforcement noted in the presentation, including higher rates of heart disease, post-traumatic stress and suicide compared with the general population.

Commissioner Atkins asked whether the sheriff's office plans to track long-term outcomes to measure program effectiveness. "We're not there yet," the chief deputy replied, saying the office is still implementing programs and that evaluation metrics will likely be developed in the future.

Commissioner Halverson moved to accept the gift; Commissioner Hayman Rowland seconded. A roll-call vote followed: Commissioners Adkins, Workman, Droste, Holbert, Slavik, Halverson and Hayman Rowland voted yes. The motion carried and the board approved amending the Sheriff—s Office 2025 budget to record the donation.

The presentation noted the donation came with the stated intent to support employee wellness and to build on existing county-funded and department-run initiatives. No restrictions or conditions tied to the donation were specified in the public presentation.

The board—s action appears on the meeting record as an acceptance of private funds and a budget amendment; no further deliverables, reporting schedule or timeline for expenditure were described during the Feb. 4 discussion.

The county manager—s and commissioner reports at the meeting also highlighted other county initiatives and interagency activity but did not add additional details about the donation acceptance or next steps for program evaluation.