The Washington County Sheriff’s Office will replace its mobile command vehicle next year with a new $1.1 million vehicle from LDV Custom Specialty Vehicles.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners last week approved a contract with the Burlington, Wis., company. The contract, which totals $1,076,140 over 24 months, will be funded with public safety aid ($850,000) and the county’s 2024 contingency fund ($226,140), county officials said.

The sheriff’s office’s current mobile command vehicle was purchased in 2011 for $250,000 and is nearing the end of its life, said Cmdr. Andy Ellickson of the sheriff’s office. Public works staff say the vehicle requires replacement due to current and future mechanical failures associated with the vehicle’s age, he said.

The new command center is an MT55 Freightliner, which is “much more beefed-up” than the old one,” he said. “It has a hood that can flip up, which makes it easier to work on,” he said. “The one we have now is a ‘cab over camper’ design. It doesn’t have a hood, which means maintenance is troublesome.”

The mobile command vehicle is used by all public-safety agencies in the county during small- and large-scale events, including critical incidents, training and community events, Ellickson said.

The vehicle should be completed and delivered in 12 to 18 months, he said.

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It’s been 29 years since television news anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared on her way to work in Mason City, Iowa.

Jodi Huisentruit (Courtesy of FindJodi.com)

At 11 a.m. Thursday, friends, family and members of FindJodi.com, a nonprofit website and podcast devoted to solving the case of her disappearance, will gather outside the TV station where she worked, KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, to mark the anniversary.

Patty Wetterling, the mother of Jacob Wetterling, will be the featured speaker. She is a nationally recognized child-safety advocate and educator and the co-author of  “Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope,” the story of how 11-year-old Jacob was taken by a masked abductor near St. Joseph in October 1989. It wasn’t until 2016, when Danny Heinrich confessed to killing and burying Jacob, that the Wetterling family and the nation knew what happened to the boy.

When Huisentruit disappeared, Wetterling was the first person some of Jodi’s friends reached out to for advice, said Caroline Lowe, a FindJodi team member who worked for 34 years as a crime reporter for WCCO-TV.

Huisentruit, of Long Prairie, Minn., interviewed Wetterling on two occasions regarding 11-year-old Jacob’s kidnapping, Lowe said.

“The first time was just months after he disappeared,” Lowe said. “Jodi was a senior at St. Cloud State University in January 1990, studying communications and broadcast journalism, when she and several college friends visited Patty at her home,” she said.

Three years later, when Huisentruit was working at KSAX-TV in Alexandria, Minn., she interviewed Wetterling again for a story that ran on what would have been Jacob’s 15th birthday, Lowe said.

“For me, the cases have always been twin cases,” Lowe said. “Jacob’s case being solved was the one that inspired me to think that Jodi’s could be solved.”

A new billboard was installed near the Mason City Airport in June, just days after Huisentruit’s 56th birthday, Lowe said. The billboard, donated by Reagan Outdoor Advertising, reads: “Don’t sit in silence … the time to talk is NOW,” she said.

An image from a new billboard installed in June 2024 near the Mason City Airport reads: “Don’t sit in silence … the time to talk is NOW.” (Courtesy of FindJodi.com)

“Somebody knows something. We’ve believed that from the beginning,” Lowe said. “The anniversary is a significant date to not only Jodi’s family and loved ones but for the person who abducted her. That’s why we keep the billboard in Mason City. We’re keeping Jodi up there until she is found. Her family wants to bring her home to Long Prairie.”

FindJodi.com officials launched a billboard campaign in 2018 in Mason City to help solve the mystery of Huisentruit’s disappearance; the billboards appeared around the time of her 50th birthday. FindJodi.com has paid for a billboard in the city ever since, Lowe said.

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Somali Week is an event hosted by Rising Impact, a non-profit that focuses on supporting Somali youth. The week includes events that focus on learning, exploring and celebrating Somali culture.

The week also is a way to celebrate Somali Independence Day, which is on July 1. Somali Independence Day marks the unification of the Trust Territory of Somaliland and the State of Somaliland into the Somali Republic.

Somali Week kicked off with a soccer game Monday in St. Paul.

There will be town hall meeting on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Another town hall meeting will start at 6 p.m. on Friday at Courtyard Minneapolis Downtown. The meetings will bring together leaders and community members to discuss the future of Somalia.

The Somali Independence Day Festival will start at 2 p.m. Saturday at West Lake Street between Blaisdell and Stevens avenues in Minneapolis. The festival will have live performances, cultural showcases, Somali food, activities and a chance to learn about Somali history. Admission is free.

Musical artists Suldaan Seeraar, Kien Jaamac and Jirday will be performing at 8 p.m. on June 30 in the Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis. The SomaliFest concert tickets will start at $50. VIP and booth options will be available for purchase.

For more information go to somaliweek.org.

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