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NUPD adds two new officers

Staff photo by Fritz Busch Two new officers, Patrick Fay, left, and Chris Lee, joined the New Ulm Police Department earlier this month. Fay hails from Rochester, Lee from Owatonna.

NEW ULM — The New Ulm Police Department added two new police officers Chris Lee and Patrick Fay to its staff earlier this month, bringing itself to a full staff.

The hires follow the appointments of former New Ulm Police Commander Dave Borchert to police chief and police sergeant Dean Barstad’s promotion to commander.

An Owatonna native, Lee earned an IT degree at South Central College in North Mankato and did information technology work for 11 years before returning to school to become a licensed police officer.

“I enjoy working with people and wanted to get out of a work cubicle and enjoy the variety of law enforcement,” Lee said.

He worked for the Maplewood Police Department for four years before returning to Owatonna to work as a community service officer. The position produces support in crime prevention, investigation and response when full police powers are not necessary. Such officers assist police in upholding law and order.

Lee worked as a part-time officer at West Concord and as a School Resource Officer at Waterville before taking a full-time position at Treasure Island Casino near Red Wing. He then returned to West Concord as a full-time officer.

That’s where he got creative.

“I wanted to bridge the gap between the community and police department,” Lee said. “I started a program with a local business that provided kids with free ice cream if they did things right like wearing a bicycle helmet, helping somebody by doing something like holding a door open for them, or if I saw them looking both ways before crossing the street.”

Lee became active in National Night Out (an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. He organized a charity softball game between the police and fire departments.

His wife Kelsey, who has a number of relatives in the area, works at home as a Mayo Clinic Business Analyst. They have a 15-month-old daughter.

Lee’s hobbies include hunting, fishing, golfing and brewing beer. He called he and his wife “history nerds” who enjoy learning about local and area history.

Patrick Fay said he was very active in high school band and choir in Rochester. He graduated from Alexandria Technical School in 2008. He went to work for the Osakis Police Department part-time before joining the Wilkin County Sheriff’s Office. Fay later worked at the Blue Earth County Jail and part-time at the Lake Crystal Police Department.

His wife Jaime is a Certified Public Accountant for Eide Bailley in Mankato. They have two girls, age three and two.

The Fays enjoy camping, fishing and spending family time outdoors in the St. Cloud and Brainerd areas.

“I look forward to meeting everybody in New Ulm and learning more about it,” Patrick said.

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.

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