Rice County honors retiring K9 Riggs and approves river patrol boat purchase

The Rice County Board of Commissioners honored K9 Riggs and handler Deputy Kevin Krieger on Dec. 23, marking the K9's retirement after nearly seven years with the sheriff's office.

Jesse Thomas of the sheriff's office told commissioners Riggs was purchased in 2018, attended training in 2019 and "has been on over a 100 deployments over the last 7 years," including locating a firearm after an armed robbery in Northfield and multiple narcotics searches. Thomas said Riggs and Krieger have logged more than 1,900 hours of training.

Kevin Krieger thanked the board and public: "It's been definitely a highlight of my career," he said.

On the same presentation, the sheriff's office asked for approval to purchase a 20-foot Pro Drive X-series riverboat with a 40-horsepower motor from TNT Marine of Dover, Minnesota, for use by the water-patrol unit. Thomas said the boat is designed for river operations "and going through rocks and trees," that only a single bid was available and that the purchase would be paid from public safety funds rather than general levy dollars.

Commissioners approved the riverboat purchase by voice vote. The sheriff's office said the county will offer its older boat to nearby public-safety agencies or sell it online if no agency purchases it.

The board's action included thanks to community supporters: Thomas noted a local business donated a retirement gift for Riggs.

The county did not provide a serial contract number or delivery timeline during the presentation; the purchase was approved as a single-bid procurement funded from public safety revenue.