City Department Heads to make the city work
effi ciently and effectively. I represent the City
of Lester Prairie in the following organizations
and associations: President of the McLeod
County Chiefs of Police Association, Lester Prairie
Community Youth Task Force and the Crisis, Health
and Safety and Student Assessment Teams (Lester
Prairie Public School).
If I am not at the school during the school year
I attempt to have offi ce hours from 9:00 a.m.
to 12:00 p.m. and it continues to provide more
visibility and availability to the public to meet
with us face to face. The City of Lester Prairie
has a city website available for your viewing
at www.lesterprairiemn.us . You are now able
to see, review and fi ll out information from the
convenience of your home. We have our House
Watch Form on the website and we will give
your home special attention when you are on
vacation if we are notifi ed. We have also put our
“Most Wanted” on the website and hope it can
be a useful tool for you to help us apprehend
those with warrants for their arrest. The permit to
purchase a handgun application form can also
be located on the website. We prefer to receive
our complaints and concerns by phone however
email is available when you feel it is necessary
at [email protected]. We have also used
Facebook to inform the public of safety issues
and concerns.
Sergeant Mark Thiry is the senior police offi cer
of the department and has been a valuable
employee of the city for over eighteen years.
Time to Focus on the Joys of Life
����������������������������������
���������������������������������������
����������
��������������������������������������������
���������������������������������������
�������������������������������������
���������������������������������������������
���������
Offi cer Thiry oversees the Safe and Sober
Challenge Program, Field Training and is our
Firearms Instructor. Under Thiry’s direction, the
Lester Prairie Police Department received awards
for the Minnesota Safe and Sober Challenge.
Offi cer Larry Monskey is the third full time police
offi cer and was hired in November of 2018. He
comes to us from the Mall of America where he
served as a Security Patrol Lieutenant for seven
years. He oversees the Crime Prevention Detail,
Bicycle Safety Program and the Fire Department
Liaison. We look forward to the exciting plans he
has in store for National Night Out this year. Offi cer
Monskey works a regular night patrol shift.
HIGHLIGHTS & INFORMATION FROM 2018
We continue to receive many phone calls
and complaints in regards to Tax Scams, Fake
Check Scams, Reloadable Card Scams, Craig’s
List Scams, Computer Scams, Lottery Scams and
Phishing Scams. Lester Prairie residents combined
have had thousands worth of their hard-earned
money taken by these scams. These types of
crimes are very diffi cult for local law enforcement
to investigate and if the money is sent out of the
United States it is impossible for us to prosecute.
If it is too good to be true than it is. You should
never need to send money to get money from
the lottery. Protect your social security number
like you would your new baby and change your
passwords on your computer or related devices
frequently. First Community Bank President Dean
Perry and I have made it a point to communicate
suspicious fi nancial activity with each other
to protect our residents from these crimes. The
Minnesota Attorney General also has some very
useful information on it’s website:
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/Scams/
There were two death investigations that
took place that took and continue to take a
considerable amount of investigation time.
Unfortunately, the deaths were attributed to the
use of drugs. The fi rst dearth was on March 18, 2018
where a 45-year-old male was found deceased
in the ten block of Hickory Street North. The cause
of death was 1, 1-Difl uoroethane toxicity. The
death was not investigated as a suspicious death.
The second death occurred on November 20,
2018. At approximately 5:08 a.m. Chief Carlson
responded to a 911 call of an unresponsive male
in the 100 block of Elm Street South. The body was
examined by the Medical Examiner and the cause
of death was attributed to toxic effects of fentanyl
and acetyl fentanyl. This death investigation
is considered a Murder in the 3rd Degree and
is currently an ongoing investigation with the
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and
Southwest Metro Drug Task Force assisting.
On May 15, 2018 at approximately 10:21 a.m.
Chief Carlson assisted the Carver County Sheriff’s
Offi ce with a vehicle pursuit through Lester Prairie
and communities in McLeod and Carver County.
Speeds exceeded 100 mph as law enforcement
were pursuing a stolen vehicle with a driver who
reportedly had a felony parole warrant and a
female passenger. The driver was arrested in
Hennepin County after “crashing” the vehicle.