Former Nisswa Mayor Found Guilty of Misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct for 2020 Incident

A jury has found former Nisswa mayor Fred Heidmann guilty of misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

The charge stems from a situation where Heidmann confronted officers in August 2020 after they stopped a vehicle in front of Heidmann’s business. Heidmann swore and was verbally critical of the officers for making the stop. He was cited for obstruction of the legal process and disorderly conduct after officers told him to stand back away from the highway and he approached the vehicle that was stopped.

Heidmann’s attorney, Ed Shaw, said that there were policy disagreements between Heidmann and the police and was concerned there was a criminal case brought to trial.

“We have an issue when have a law, disorderly conduct, and the statute that defines it that’s so vague and open that someone expressing an opinion may be using colorful language can get brought into court and tried and convicted of it, that’s a problem, and I think that law really needs to be fixed because it’s not working the way it is now,” said Shaw.

Sentencing is set for May 12th. The obstruction of legal process misdemeanor Heidmann was also initially cited for was dropped in December 2020.