Sheriff’s Office outlines free nine-day Citizens Academy, invites residents to sign up for next year

Deputy Jen, a community deputy with the county sheriff’s office, told the meeting the department recently held its 2025 Citizens Academy, a nine-day, free program that moved around the county and offered residents behind-the-scenes tours, hands-on training and emergency-response demonstrations.

The Citizens Academy covered a range of law-enforcement operations and support services, Jen said, adding that residents can sign up to receive email or text notice when registration opens for next year. “If anybody wants information or wants to know when the registration opens up, they can go here, sign up,” Deputy Jen said.

Why it matters: the academy is a community-outreach effort intended to increase public understanding of sheriff’s office operations — from dispatch and emergency management to detention procedures and crisis response — and to encourage broader participation in future classes.

Deputy Jen and a recurring participant, Ray, described sessions held in multiple towns to make the program more accessible. The academy included a sheriff’s presentation and a question-and-answer session with Sheriff Kelly and Deputy Chief Huneke; a day at Wanamingo where participants viewed boats, ATVs, a dive trailer and dive suits; a tabletop emergency-management exercise using county maps; and a courthouse behind-the-scenes tour showing jury rooms and judge chambers.

The program also took participants through the adult detention center. Jail staff, including Ursula, the jail cook, escorted attendees into housing units where they shared a meal with inmates and demonstrated intake and emergency procedures. Jen described a simulated “10:33” emergency — the internal radio code used in that scenario — during which a volunteer participant was placed in a restraint chair as part of the training.

Hands-on tactical training included an emergency response team day with BearCat rides and room-clearing demonstrations; a range day with individual instruction from firearms instructors and a drone demonstration; DWI and high-risk traffic-stop scenarios; a K-9 demonstration featuring the jail K-9 in training; and the Milo shooter-decision simulator that presents rapid “shoot/don’t shoot” scenarios.

Organizers said weather disrupted one session: a snowstorm caused a cancellation that required combining or shortening other sessions. Jen said the office plans to add a backup day next year to avoid cutting demonstrations short.

The sheriff’s chaplain program was highlighted as volunteer and non‑denominational. Jen said the program includes five volunteer chaplains of different faiths and is intended to provide support without promoting any religion.

Those who attended described the academy as eye-opening about the complexity and specialization within the sheriff’s office. Ray, an academy alumnus, said portions of the program gave him a new appreciation for the range of duties deputies perform. “I’ve been through this class three times now,” a participant said, “and every time you go to it, you learn something new.”

Organizers provided logistical details for future applicants: the 2025 academy ran across multiple evenings and Saturdays, with weekday sessions typically starting at 6:15 p.m. and ending at 9:15 p.m.; registration is free; and interested residents can sign up to receive notice by text or email when registration opens.

No formal votes or policy changes were taken during the remarks; Jen’s presentation was a program report and an invitation to residents to register for future sessions.