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New Ulm Police Chief Wieland retires

Staff photo by Fritz Busch New Ulm Police Chief Myron Wieland stands next to a squad vehicle near the end of his 30-year career here Tuesday afternoon. Wieland’s final work day is today.

NEW ULM — New Ulm Police Chief Myron Wieland said he considers himself “very fortunate” to have joined the police force with a group of professionals 30 years ago who didn’t follow the usual officer track.

“I was schooled by officers with unique personalities, many of which were schooled by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA),” said Wieland, who reached 30 years of service today and retires.

Wieland said New Ulm Police Commander Dave Borchert will become the interim police chief on Thursday, pending a formal announcement of the new chief.

Myron did a variety of tasks at the New Ulm Pamida store in his younger days.

“I met a number of New Ulm Police Department officers during store bank deposit runs, which police did as a courtesy for businesses back then,” Wieland said. “I got to know officers “Doc” Dougherty, Ron Traurig, Howard Zins and Harvey Grunst in those days.”

Myron said he got to know Zins, a small plane pilot, on a higher level while working part-time doing line services at the New Ulm Airport.

He enrolled in the Mankato State University Law Enforcement program in 1982 and remained a commuter student until graduation. After MSU, he studied the skills portion of law enforcement including shooting, defensive tactics and driving skills at Alexandria Vocational School.

On Nov. 1, 1987, he was hired by New Ulm Police Chief Rich Guldan.

Except for the eight-week training program in Alexandria, Wieland has lived his entire life in New Ulm.

“I may not know all the ways of the world, but I know New Ulm really well,” Wieland said. “When I joined the police force, I learned a lot from Ron (Traurig) and Bert Schapekahm. These days, we’ve got a top-notch group of police officers and staff too.”

Wieland said technology has really come a long way since his early days with the police department.

“I remember the early days using those big, heavy IBM Selectric electric typewriters,” Myron said. “Now all the modern technology can be overwhelming.”

He said some basic police principles remain the same now as they were long ago.

“We’re responsible for the well-being of people taken into custody,” Myron said. “Whether they go to jail or to a mental or physical health care facility. On top of that, you have to balance officer safety.”

Wieland said some of his more enjoyable moments as an officer were spent on downtown foot patrol at New Ulm’s Oktoberfest celebrations several weeks ago.

“Doing that was soul-cleansing for me,” Myron said.

He said community fabric is also important.

“New Ulm is full of neighbors looking out for neighbors,” Wieland said. “If they see something that needs attention, they aren’t afraid to call police about it.”

In retirement, he plans to spend more time on wood projects at home and visit his first grandchild in Amarillo, Texas.

In addition, he plans to work part-time at the Hutchinson Carpets Plus/Color Tile store owned by his brother-in-law, Todd Sudheimer, who is a Minnesota Air Guard member and is deploying to the Middle East.

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.

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