Midwest Medical Examiner reports 262 deaths in Pine County; meth, fentanyl present in fatal overdoses

Shane Sheets, director of the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, told the Pine County Board on May 20 that the office received roughly 262 death reports from the county in 2024 and that about 95 percent of county deaths are reported to the medical examiner’s office.

“We have a total of cases reported to us were 262 deaths in Pine County,” Sheets said. He told the board the county recorded one homicide, 29 accidents (including 12 blunt-force injury deaths), 13 drug-overdose fatalities, seven suicides and two exposure deaths.

The report highlighted the drug profile for those overdoses. “For methamphetamine present, there was 12. So methamphetamine and fentanyl are what we're seeing for Pine County,” Sheets said, and added the office has begun importing fatal-overdose data into OD Maps in near real time after completing forensic autopsies.

The medical examiner framed the trends in year-to-year context: drug-overdose totals for 2024 matched 2023, statewide fatal overdoses are starting to decline, and suicide counts in Pine County rose by one from 2023 (from six to seven). Sheets noted typical suicide demographics and that blunt-force injuries include motor-vehicle crashes and falls.

Sheets also described non-forensic services the office provides, including brain removals for Alzheimer’s research with university brain banks and culturally specific “hardware removals” requested by some Hmong families so decedents can be buried without metal hardware, which he said the office performs to support families' cultural practices.

He invited county officials to tour the facility and said the office expects “no rate increase for next year.” The director warned that new substances continue to appear in drug markets and said the office will test for them when they show up locally. “You’re seeing xylazine and a lot of veterinarian tranquilizers,” Sheets said; “we will be testing for that once it comes.”

The board's discussion touched briefly on rural-versus-metro comparisons. Sheets said overdose rates measured per 100,000 residents make Pine County roughly comparable to similarly sized rural counties, while noting that in rural areas methamphetamine remains a persistent challenge.

Sheets left contact information for follow-up and said the office serves 37 Minnesota counties and some Wisconsin referrals. He stressed the office is updating annual reports and the new case-management system will allow more routine, customizable data reporting for counties and public-health partners.

Pine County officials did not take any formal action at the meeting based on the report.