Remembering the Brave as Flags to Fly at Half-Staff for Peace Officer Memorial Day

(KNSI) — Flags will be at half staff Wednesday, May 15th for Peace Officer Memorial Day.

The day is set aside to remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and have been killed in the line of duty. This year, it will include three Burnsville first responders. Officer Paul Elmstrand, firefighter paramedic Adam Finseth and Officer Matthew Ruge all were shot to death while responding to a domestic disturbance on February 18th.

Tonight at 7:00 p.m., a ceremony will be held at the Rice Memorial Monument in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery. The cemetery is near the intersection of East Main Street and 4th Avenue Northeast. Local officials, law enforcement representatives, and members of the Rice American Legion will be in attendance to honor our nation’s fallen peace officers.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket to sit on during the 30 minute ceremony.

Flags on all state and federal buildings will remain at half staff until sunset.

Local officers remembered include:

Senior Deputy Edwin H. Arendt of the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office died November 3, 1987, as the result of a car crash.

Deputy Sheriff Frank E. McGregor of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office died on October 27, 1931, as the result of a car crash.

Deputy Sheriff Edward Henry Foley of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office died September 28, 1919, when he was shot and killed while trying to stop a car at a roadblock.

Policeman Jason F. Rosenberger of the Sauk Centre Police Department died accidentally on April 17, 1929, after his gun fell from his pocket and discharged when it struck the floor. He was shot in the head.

Detective Fred W. Nolan of the St. Cloud Police Department died on April 29, 1934, after he was shot while confronting a suspicious man. He had been on the force for just three months.

Patrolman Albert Mathiasen of the St. Cloud Police Department died September 18, 1938, in a motorcycle crash while he was out on patrol.

Police Officer Brian Klinefelter of the St. Joseph Police Department was shot and killed on January 29, 1996, while attempting to arrest three suspects who had just robbed a liquor store.

Police Officer Tom Decker of the Cold Spring Police Department was shot to death in an ambush while conducting a welfare check on November 29, 2012.

Another officer, Investigator Steven Sandberg of the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Department, died on October 18, 2015, after he was shot with his own gun by a prisoner he was guarding at St. Cloud Hospital.

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