Sheriff shares thoughts at a public conversation

Waseca County Sheriff Jay Dulas made himself available for a conversation with community members at the Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism the afternoon of Friday, May 1. About a dozen people attended and posed questions on a number of topics.

 

One of the first was the April 24 grass fire in the Findlay Wildlife Management Area near Rice Lake. Dulas informed the group an investigation is “nearly complete” regarding the incident, which brought in firefighting teams from around the area and burned about 160 acres of grassland. 

 

In the case of fires like the recent one and in March of 2024, which burned 1,600 acres and posed significant threat to property, Dulas explained it is typical that parties found responsible for allowing the fire to get out of control can be issued a citation and be required to pay restitution. That happened in the case of the 2024 fire, he said, and may well happen again with the recent one.

 

“Once a party lights a fire,” he observed, “they are responsible for supervising it until it is completely out. If they allow it to get out of control, there can be consequences.”

 

He went on to say when property owners expect to light anything other than a recreational fire–which he described as being no more than three feet across or three feet tall–they are asked to notify the sheriff office dispatcher. “At that time we will let them know whether they have permission to light the fire,” he said, saying the judgment would be based on questions of safety.

 

“It’s helpful when we know where people are lighting fires so we can keep an eye on things, and reassure other members of the community there is no danger.”

 

The group then turned the conversation to plans for the new county justice center.

 

As reported in previous editions of the Waseca County Pioneer, the new justice center structure will be about 125 feet on a side, three stories in height, and will house the county’s courtroom and court offices as well as the county corrections, county attorney, sheriff’s and emergency management departments. The facility will include a “class one” jail–one authorized by the Department of Corrections to house prisoners for no more than 72 consecutive hours. 

 

Once the new center is complete, the building which currently holds the county jail, sheriff’s department, and emergency management services will be razed.

 

Dulas stated his department is satisfied it can work with the 72-hour limit, since even someone arrested on a Friday could be held locally over the weekend and taken to court on Monday morning, at which time it frequently happens the person is released pending further court action.

 

For those who must be kept in custody, he said the county is working to make arrangements that they be kept at another facility.

 

Such arrangements, he went on to say, have been used for decades, since the current facility is not authorized to hold female inmates. In the past, the jail has housed inmates at facilities in Rice, Steele, Blue Earth and LeSueur counties.  Dulas said it is likely the system for collaboration will become more formalized and predictable when it is being used more often, mentioning that no official arrangements have yet been made regarding which area jail is likely to become the consistent collaborator. 

 

A circumstance which will reduce the burden of having inmates housed elsewhere, he told group members, is that since the time of the Covid pandemic, courts have begun making more and more use of internet meeting platforms like Zoom to hold hearings.

 

In response to a question about how the increase of mental illness has affected his department, Dulas replied that calls involving persons who are highly agitated, distressed, frightened, or otherwise in crisis continue to rise dramatically.

 

He said safety officers receive persistent training on the topic and know what resources to call in: he specifically mentioned a local mental wellness crisis team from Spero, a local agency which has a number of contracts to serve county needs.

 

A large complication when it comes to mental health calls, he said, is that officers may need to stay on site for an hour or more while circumstances are stabilized. In the same way, dispatchers can be obligated to stay on the line with agitated callers for extended periods.

 

“This is not just a job for us,” said Dulas of all public safety teams, including fire, police and ambulance personnel. “We care about our citizens and want to be sure their needs are being met. That’s why we’re consistently getting training and finding more resources to do that.”