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Minnesota briefs: First tribal police chief named to peace officer training board

Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Police Chief Sara Rice to the state Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) — the first tribal police chief to serve on the state board.

January 14, 2018 at 5:30AM

Sara Rice of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is the first tribal police chief to serve on the Minnesota Peace Officer Standards and Training board. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Police Chief Sara Rice to the state Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) — the first tribal police chief to serve on the state board.

The 15-member board coordinates licensing and establishes standards for all peace officers in Minnesota.

Rice, an enrolled member of the Mille Lacs Band, has been a police officer since 2001. She was named the interim police chief in 2016 and has been in the permanent top job since Jan. 9, overseeing the 23-officer department.

"Sara Rice has been an outstanding leader of our police force during a time of great stress and uncertainty," Mille Lacs Band Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin said in a statement.

Rice has been a part of negotiations with Mille Lacs County, which severed ties with tribal police in 2016 over concerns. Negotiations over a new joint law enforcement agreement haven't succeeded and in December, the band sued the county.

Kelly Smith

Red Lake

Student and teacher chosen for trip to France

A Red Lake High School student and teacher are among 15 teams selected nationwide for a program that will have them traveling to Washington, D.C., and France to study World War II and research and honor one of the war's American casualties.

High school junior Autumn May and social studies teacher Marcia Roline wrote essays and provided other materials to be accepted into the "Normandy: Sacrifice for Freedom Albert H. Small Student & Teacher Institute."

Their acceptance means they will study the war and research a Minnesota "silent hero" who died during or after the invasion and is memorialized at the Normandy American Cemetery.

In June, the program will take them to the nation's capital to do research with primary documents. They will then go on to France for tours of Omaha and Utah beaches and other historic sites.

May will give a eulogy at the grave of the hero she researched and create a memorial website. She and Roline will also present their story to local schools and community groups.

"I'm really excited," said May, who will get her first trip on an airplane, too. "I'm looking forward to learning about everything that went on where they landed."

Pam Louwagie

St. Cloud

Exhibit showcases immigrant stories

This month, a new exhibit in St. Cloud is showcasing first-generation immigrant and refugee stories.

"Central Minnesota Green Card Voices," tells the stories of 19 St. Cloud area residents originally from nine countries. The exhibit, which will be up in the Whitney Senior Center until Jan. 31, features 8-foot-tall banners and will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

Minneapolis-based Green Card Voices started in 2013 to share immigrant stories. The St. Cloud exhibit is also supported by nonprofit Unite Cloud. It will be displayed in Little Falls in February and in Cold Spring in March.

Kelly Smith