It will be forever different at the Howard County Law Enforcement Center when the calendar turns next Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009.
    And no one is more aware of the changes than newly elected sheriff Morris “Mike” Miner.
    “Come Jan. 1, it won’t be the same,” sheriff-elect Miner said recently. “It will really be different. It seems like Mark (Grinhaug) and Connie (Sindelar) have been here forever, and now both will be gone.”
    Both Sheriff Grinhaug and Connie, long time civil deputy in the sheriff’s office, are retiring. Mike is replacing Grinhaug and Jennifer Tweite of Riceville is Connie’s replacement.
    Connie has long said she would retire when Mark decided to not seek re-election. He made that decision some time back and she was okay with that.
    “I’ve worked so long with Mark that when he decided not to run again, I decided it was time for me to retire,” she said.
    Mark was hired as a deputy sheriff in January with Connie joining the sheriff’s office in May. The sheriff at the time was Gordy Watros.
    The year was 1973.
    Born and raised in Cresco, Mark was drafted into the Army after high school. He served 20 months in the military, including a tour of Vietnam. After his discharge, he spent a month becoming “acclimated” to civilian life. He was then offered a job in law enforcement.
    On June 27, 1977, Mike, who was a member of the Cresco Police Department at the time, was hired as a deputy sheriff. When Mark took over the sheriff’s seat on Jan. 1, 1999, Mike was elevated to Mark’s old position as chief deputy. It has been that way for the past 10 years.
    In his 37 years as a Howard County law enforcement officer, Mark has witnessed a huge change in local law enforcement. One of the biggest changes has been the communications equipment.
    “Early on, when you wanted to reach the dispatcher by phone, you had this tuning fork that you would strike and the tone would ring the phone,” said Mark. “Back then it (dispatch office) wasn’t staffed all the time. When you rang after hours, it would ring at the Cresco Motel and they would answer it and relay the message. Not very efficient, but we didn’t know any better.”
    Today, of course, it is completely different. The old telephone equipment was the size of a large suitcase that was hooked up in the trunk of the patrol car. Today they use a phone system located near the driver that is smaller than a desk telephone.
    Not only is the equipment much smaller, the range of broadcasting is far reaching. And, an officer on patrol can have the dispatcher pull up not only state law enforcement information but also federal law enforcement.
    Other changes over the years have included the introduction of computers, the 911 emergency telephone system, more law enforcement staff, digital photography (replaced a law enforcement photo lab), better equipment and the Law Enforcement Center itself.
    But what sets this period of county law enforcement apart has been Mark the officer.
    Mark admits to getting off to a rocky start on the job. “I remember I was over by Saratoga some place, driving on county roads I’d never been on before. I got so turned around I didn’t know where I was at. Then I saw this place and stopped. Inside were a bunch of guys playing cards and I had to ask them where I was at. They kind of laughed and said I was in Acme. I’d lived my whole life in Howard County and I’d never even heard of Acme. But how embarrassing – Howard County deputy and I didn’t know where I was in my own county.”
    He laughs about it today. Probably did then, too.
    “He has made the job most interesting,” admitted Mike with a smile. “He has always kept us on our toes, but in a fun way. For instance, when an officer is all by himself out on patrol in an area town, he could never let his guard down. When you were parked some place, you never knew when Mark would sneak up on you and…you get the picture.”
    Humor has long been a strong suit of Sheriff Grinhaug. “Officers may have a bit of a warp sense of humor, but you need that after the kind of work they do,” admitted Mark.
    Like when a state inspector was accompanied by then Sheriff Gary Cleveland in inspecting the jail and, as they went into one of the empty cells, Mark quietly locked the jail door behind them and left. He told the dispatcher, who doubles as jailers, to not pay any attention to the noise coming from a second floor cell. Eventually they were released.
    Sometimes that humor isn’t planned. Mike tells the story of when he and Mark were together on patrol one cold winter day and Mark constantly bragged about snow tires on the patrol car. “We didn’t have money in the budget to buy snow tires, but Mark found a couple old ones and had them put on his patrol car. He did nothing but brag about how he had the best patrol car because he had snow tires. Then he hit a patch of snow and we slid into the ditch. A lot of good those snow tires did us. We needed a wrecker to pull us out.”
For years the sheriff’s department was short on finances. They used to have four or five different types and caliber of handguns, which was a real problem when it came time to order ammunition. “What we bought depended on what was on sale,” said Mark.
    For a time they shared a radar gun with the Cresco Police Department. Early on, Mark was out running traffic when he clocked a Cadillac going 75 mph plus as it came over a hill. “He immediate slowed down to 55 mph, I mean right now,” recalled the sheriff. “I turned on the lights and he pulled over, but said there must be a mistake as he had his cruise set for 55. He was so positive, I was having second thoughts myself.”
    As they stood by the patrol car, the two men heard truckers talking on their CB radios. One of the truckers pointed out that the red Cadillac had been stopped and he was sure glad. “He went around me like I was standing still and I was doing 55,” the trucker said.
    “When I heard the trucker say that, I looked at the guy I’d stopped. He just put his head down. He knew he’d been had,” said Mark.
    Law enforcement, of course, has its very serious and tragic moments. When asked about the hardest aspect of the job, Mark is quick to respond “Fatalities, especially when they involve kids. And notifying the parents. That’s hard, too. Now the hospital staff usually does that.”
    Although the tragedies usually involve motor vehicles, not all. There have been a number of drownings, one murder, a number of farm accidents and several suicides.
    Bad car and truck accidents have been plentiful over the years, although the number of fatalities has dropped significantly since the 1980s. There were over 20 vehicle deaths one year.
    “I think the reason they have decreased is because cars are safer,” said Mark. “More people are using seat belts and the air bags have made a difference.” Other factors may include less drunk driving and safer highways, especially the widened Highway 63.   
    His most threatening moment?
    “Mike and I went to serve papers on committing a guy to a medical facility. When we got to the house, a relative said the subject was in the bedroom. While Mike waited in the kitchen, I went to the bedroom. The subject was lying on the bed and when I said I had committal papers for him, he turned and reached for a gun on the dresser. There I am standing there holding the papers and this guy’s pulled a gun on me. I thought that was going to be it.”
     Then, over Mark’s shoulder, came an arm with a gun aimed at the man, telling him to put the gun down or he was going to “blow him away.” It was Mike. The man put down the gun and he was escorted out of the house and transported to a mental institution. For Mark and Mike it took a while before their hearts stopped racing.
    One of the biggest improvements to Howard County law enforcement was the inclusion of the 911 telephone system, which included numbering all rural properties and mapping. Mike doesn’t hesitate to give Mark much of the credit. “He worked long and hard on 911, helping to make it what it is today,” said Mike. Sheriff Grinhaug is just as quick to give credit to the 911 board.
    It is easy to see why Mike knows life at the Howard County Law Enforcement Center won’t be the same come January 1. As for Mark, he thinks “the past 37 years have for the most part been great, but they went by much too fast.”