Humboldt Police Department

06/01/2026

The Monday Mill

Good morning from HPD.

There was no Monday Mill last week. Memorial Day seemed like an appropriate time to pause and remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to this country rather than adding another post to the Facebook feed.

Now that June has arrived, we are back.

Over the last two weeks, HPD handled 85 calls for service.

Those calls included traffic stops, domestic-related calls, suspicious activity, welfare checks, juvenile issues, accidents, driving complaints, animal calls, lockouts, agency assists, a fire call, a wanted person, and a number of other situations that generally do not improve by ignoring them.

We also want to take a moment to recognize that our community has recently experienced a difficult loss.

If you are struggling, or if you are worried about someone else, please reach out. HPD is here to listen, help connect people with resources, and respond when someone needs assistance.

You can also call or text 988 at any time to reach the Su***de & Crisis Lifeline. Support is available for people dealing with mental-health struggles, emotional distress, or simply needing someone to talk to. If there is an immediate danger or emergency, call 911.

Summer activity is picking up around town, which means more people outside, more kids on bikes and scooters, and more traffic moving through neighborhoods. Drivers, please slow down and pay attention. Riders, please wear a helmet, use lights when visibility is poor, and assume vehicles may not see you.

As mowing season continues, please keep grass clippings out of the street. They can be slick for motorcycles and bicycles, and they can wash into storm drains and clog them. Your lawn does not need to expand its territory into the roadway.

If your organization has an event coming up, drop the date, time, and location in the comments. We like knowing what is happening around town, and we like stopping by when the schedule allows.

Fun fact: the street is not a compost pile, even if the grass clippings seem committed to the idea.

Stay safe, Humboldt.

— Chief Miller

05/19/2026

The Monday Mill — Tuesday Edition

Good morning from HPD. The Monday Mill missed Monday this week due to illness, which is unfortunate because we had a very strict agreement with the calendar.

Last week, HPD handled 56 calls for service.

HPD also participated in an EMA scenario last week alongside law enforcement, fire, EMS, and emergency management partners.

Credit where it is due: everyone involved did a great job. These scenarios only work when people show up, take them seriously, and are willing to work through the messy parts of emergency response before a real emergency happens.

The Humboldt Newspapers and 97.7 The Bolt covered the scenario, including photos and a story, so if you want a closer look at what took place, check out their coverage.

I also want to specifically recognize the HPD officers who participated. They handled the scenario well, from helping secure victims, to locking down the scene, to coordinating with other responders. There may have even been some firm direction given to firefighters, purely in the spirit of teamwork, of course.

Public safety training is not always pretty, quiet, or perfectly scripted. That is the point. It helps us find problems, improve communication, and make sure we are better prepared when the call is real.

As mowing season continues, please keep grass clippings out of the street. They can be slick for motorcycles and bicycles, they can wash into storm drains, and they make it look like your lawn tried to leave home.

If you have an event coming up around town, drop the details in the comments. Date, time, location, all of it. We’d love the chance to get out and say hello.

Fun fact: public safety exercises are like fire drills, except louder, dustier, and with more people pretending they definitely heard the radio traffic the first time.

Stay safe, Humboldt.

— Chief Miller

05/15/2026

05/11/2026

The Monday Mill

Good morning from HPD.

This week’s theme appears to be: green tags, green grass, and things growing where they probably should not be.

Last week, HPD handled about 60 calls for service, bringing us to approximately 818 calls for service on the year.

Those calls included traffic stops, driving complaints, animal calls, juvenile issues, follow-ups, lockouts, welfare checks, mental health calls, a missing person report, a domestic call, a disturbance, vandalism, and a collection of “well, that’s not ideal” situations.

You may have also noticed officers out placing green tags around town. Those are not all for the same thing. Some are for grass that is too long, some are for grass clippings or debris in the street, and some are for rubbish or other property maintenance issues.

Green tags are not meant to embarrass anyone. They are just the City’s way of saying, “Hey, this needs attention before it becomes a bigger problem.”

If you receive a green tag and have questions or concerns about it, please contact City Hall. Officers are assisting with identifying and delivering the notices, but City Hall handles the ordinance process, deadlines, and follow-up questions.

A few reminders as we get further into mowing season:

Please keep grass clippings out of the street. They can be slick for motorcycles and bicycles, they can wash into storm drains, and they make the street look like the lawn tried to escape.

Please keep an eye on tall grass and rubbish before it becomes an issue.

Police work in a small town is a strange mix. Some days are serious. Some days are busy. Some days involve arrests, reports, and investigations.

And some days involve telling grass to calm down.

If you have an event coming up around town, drop the details in the comments. Date, time, location, all of it. We’d love the chance to get out and say hello.

**Fun fact:** grass grows faster immediately after someone says, “I’ll mow it tomorrow.”

That’s it for this week’s Monday Mill. Stay safe, Humboldt.

— Chief Miller

05/04/2026

The Monday Mill

Last week had a little bit of everything around here: traffic stops, animal calls, scams, fraud reports, lockouts, welfare checks, suspicious activity, hit-and-runs, and domestic calls.

HPD handled approximately 85 calls for service this past week, bringing us to 759 calls for service for the year.

HPD also handled a burglary investigation this week that resulted in a Burglary in the Second Degree charge. That case has already been seen and discussed publicly, but it remains an active investigation, so we will not be going into further detail.

On the community side, HPD was glad to be part of the HCMH Color Run for Mental Health & Su***de Awareness at Humboldt High School. It was a great event with an important message: It’s OK to not be OK. We appreciate HCMH putting together events that bring people out, start conversations, and support mental health awareness in our community. If ever someone needs to talk, HPD is here. You can call, email or private message us here on Facebook.

We also had one of the more memorable calls of the week involving a young barn owl with an injured wing. Not every call we handle is criminal in nature. Sometimes police work means helping people, sometimes it means solving problems, and sometimes it means helping get a very unimpressed owl pointed toward proper wildlife care.

We named him Hootie, and we’re asking the community to root for his recovery. He may not have appreciated being helped at the time, but we’re hoping he gets patched up and back where he belongs.

“Fun fact: owls are mostly nocturnal. Hootie was probably not thrilled about being part of a daytime police matter.”

That’s it for this week’s Monday Mill. Stay safe, Humboldt.

— Chief Miller

05/03/2026

🎉 Color Run Day is HERE! 🎉

We’re excited to see everyone this afternoon! Be sure to check out the race map below so you know where you’re headed.

A few quick reminders:

🕐 Day-of registration: Opens at 1:00 PM
📍 Located at the Humboldt High School concession stand (by the football/baseball field)

👕 Pre-registered but didn’t pick up your gear?
You can grab it at the concession stand starting at 1:00 PM

🏃‍♀️ Race begins at 1:30 PM

Whether you registered early or are joining us today, we can’t wait to see you out there supporting mental health in our community 💙

05/03/2026

Hopefully everyone can stop by!

04/30/2026

Found yesterday (04.29.26) in the area of 9th St S in Humboldt. Stop in if it’s yours.

04/27/2026

The Monday Mill

Good Monday morning, Humboldt.

HPD is starting the week at 637 calls for service on the year.

Last week brought a little bit of everything: welfare checks, traffic complaints, suspicious activity, follow-up work, civil issues, lockouts, mental health calls, juvenile issues, disturbances, and the usual “we’re not sure who to call, but maybe HPD can help” situations — and when we can, we will.

One notable incident you may have already heard about involved a disturbance on S. Taft Street. That call resulted in one arrest, with charges filed for:

Assault on a peace officer — no injury, two counts
Malicious prosecution
Providing false information
Criminal mischief
Violation of a no-contact order
Simple assault
Disorderly conduct

As always, charges are accusations. The individual is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Spring cleanup is also coming up. Some residents may see green tags or door hangers from HPD over the next couple of weeks. These are reminders tied to cleanup and abatement issues. The goal is to give people notice, point them toward cleanup options, and get problem areas cleaned up before they turn into bigger enforcement issues.

City cleanup drop-off will be at the City Street Shop, 1000 Lewis Street, with no general curbside pickup.

Wednesday, May 6 — 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 9 — 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Appliance stickers are available at City Hall for $10. Hazardous material drop-off is Saturday, May 9, from 8:00 a.m. to noon at 1000 Lewis Street.

In plain terms: if you have been meaning to clean something up, the City is giving you a very convenient window to get it done.

A few community events on the radar this week include Story-time at the Humboldt Public Library on Wednesday morning, the Humboldt-Dakota City Kiwanis Roast Beef Dinner on Thursday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Bonus Romance Book Club at Night Owl Books on Thursday evening, and live music by Zach Suntken & Company at the Dakota City VFW Thursday night.

We also hoped to make it to the local book sale this past weekend benefiting area libraries, but calls had other plans and kept us tied up past the event. That is how it goes some days. We still appreciate seeing events that support our libraries and bring people together.

On the subject of libraries, Chief Miller did make it over to the library last week, got his library card, and then promptly left it at the library because he got to talking. We will call that community engagement with a side of forgetfulness.

With the weather improving, more people are out walking, biking, driving, cleaning yards, and starting projects that were definitely supposed to take “just a few minutes.” Slow down, look twice, and watch for kids, pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, and people backing out of driveways.

The Monday Mill is not just about arrests or traffic stops. A lot of police work is checking on people, answering questions, helping solve problems, calming things down, and being present before small issues turn into bigger ones.

If your business, school, church, club, organization, or group has something happening in Humboldt, drop the date, time, and location in the comments. We like knowing what is going on around town, and we’ll try to stop by when calls allow.

Fun fact: spring cleaning is a lot like paperwork. Ignoring it does not make it go away.

That’s it for this week’s Monday Mill.

Stay safe, Humboldt.

— Chief Miller

01/27/2026

A Cadillac FOB was found on the ground last night at Caseys. If you were wondering where they went, they are now in safekeeping at the LEC. Please come and I identify them and they will be returned to you.

Also thank you to the citizen that turned them in!