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Pine County moves to keep single-point courthouse screening after bomb threat
Summary
Sheriff Nelson told commissioners a 2:20 a.m. bomb threat led deputies to fully screen and temporarily lockdown county buildings; the board agreed to continue single-point screening at the courthouse as a month-long pilot and return with evaluation data in July.
Sheriff Nelson told the Pine County Board that an out-of-state bomb threat at about 2:20 a.m. prompted deputies to clear county buildings, notify courts and nearby agencies, and institute a single-point security screening at the courthouse.
"Dispatch received a bomb threat," Nelson said, describing how deputies checked doors and garbage cans, moved screening equipment to the main entrance, and coordinated with the state fusion center. Investigators later determined the call originated from out of state and county buildings reopened by noon.
The screening change required additional staffing and prompted discussion about costs and policy details. Nelson said the single-entry process worked but will demand "a constant presence" to keep the building checked. Commissioners asked for concrete usage and staffing data; Nelson and staff proposed running the screening as a pilot for about a month and returning to the board’s first July meeting with counts and policy options.
Board members praised the response and emphasized communication and evaluation. The sheriff’s office said the Everbridge public-notification system (the county’s replacement for Code Red) helped inform employees and the community during the incident. Nelson also noted the courthouse trial schedule at the time increased the number of people needing screening, making the event a useful test of the new procedure.
The board agreed to continue the screening pilot and directed staff to gather operational data — including staffing needs, throughput counts, and policy scenarios for managing frequent in-and-out traffic — ahead of the July follow-up. No formal ordinance or permanent policy was adopted at the meeting; commissioners approved continuing the pilot by consensus and voice vote.
The sheriff said the follow-up will include after-action feedback from staff and the private security firm and that the investigation into the source of the threat and potential accountability actions is ongoing.
