Stearns County Deputies Sport Patriotic Patches to Mark America’s 250th, Support Fallen First Responders

(KNSI) — If you notice something a little different on the uniforms of Stearns County deputies this year, there’s a patriotic reason behind it.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office is rolling out commemorative patches to mark America’s 250th anniversary, with proceeds from the patch sales going to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The national nonprofit supports the families of first responders and military members killed in the line of duty.

Sheriff Steve Soyka told KNSI News the idea came to him as he thought about how the country would be celebrating this summer. “Honestly, I didn’t really come across it. It was just an idea that this is the 250th year of America and figuring there’d be a lot of celebration around that. I wanted to do something that was commemorative for our staff and to represent the fact that we live in America.”

Soyka designed the patch through a vendor and modeled the program after the pink patches the office wears during cancer awareness campaigns. Participation is voluntary. Deputies who want a set of patches buy them out of their own pocket, and once the cost of producing the patches is covered, the remaining money is donated to Tunnel to Towers.

Soyka says about half the staff opted in. Deputies who choose to wear the patches are authorized to keep them on their uniforms for the rest of their careers. As for why he picked Tunnel to Towers as the beneficiary, Soyka says the decision came down to finding a cause worth supporting. “I don’t need to pocket the money. We’re not going to make money on the patches. What should we donate it to? And this seemed like a good cause.”

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was started in honor of New York City firefighter Stephen Siller, who died on September 11th, 2001, after running through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in full gear to reach the Twin Towers. The foundation pays off mortgages for the families of fallen first responders and military members and builds specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans.

The organization has helped Minnesota families, including the family of Pope County Deputy Josh Owen. A 12-year veteran of the department and a U.S. Army veteran, Owen was shot and killed responding to a domestic call on April 15th, 2023. He was 44 years old and died on his birthday. Tunnel to Towers paid off the mortgage on the Owen family home in Glenwood in 2024.

The official sign-up deadline has passed, but extra patches were ordered so new hires and current staff can still buy in. Soyka says he’ll share the final donation total once the money is fully collected.

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