Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl Officially Retires

A new sheriff has taken the reigns in Crow Wing County as of the new year. Todd Dahl announced his retirement back in 2017 after serving 12 years as Sheriff and 32 in Crow Wing County law enforcement.

Todd Dahl knew he wanted to be Sheriff of Crow Wing County from the start.

“I was going to school at Bemidji State and I just happened to pass Sheriff Warnberg’s desk, his office, and he was in there with a couple of captains and he said ‘You know son, what are you going to do? What do you want to do? You’re from here. I know your grandparents. I know your parents. What are you going to do?’ And I said, ‘You know Sheriff, with all due respect, I want to be Sheriff here someday,” said former Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl.

That is exactly what he did. Dahl graduated from Brainerd High School in 1983 and went on to receive his criminal justice degree from Bemidji State University. Dahl has spent over 30 years working for the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office and has served as Sheriff for the last 12.

“Everybody has asked me, ‘Would you do it again? Would you do it all over again?’ Being from Brainerd, I wouldn’t change a thing,” added Dahl.

While it was a tough decision to retire, Dahl and his wife felt it was the right time.

“We talked about it a long time, my wife and I, and knew that we wanted to go out on a high note when I was young enough to enjoy retirement life,” Dahl explained.

Over his 12 years served as Sheriff Dahl made many calls, but his last call on December 27th was the hardest.

“I made it through my little portion and then the dispatcher, I lost it at that. You know, this has been a huge chunk of my life so to make that final call, that last call we call it, it was emotional for me,” said Dahl.

Sheriff Dahl wants to thank those who have worked with him along the way and the county that has supported him all of these years.

“They’re phenomenal. When I say ‘thank you’ to all of them, that’s from the bottom of my heart, and it truly is to the people as well because they were certainly good enough to elect me three times,” Dahl added. “And that’s pretty special.”

Incoming Sheriff Scott Goddard will officially be sworn into office during a pinning ceremony on January 9 in Pequot Lakes.