Cass County Sheriff Deputy Passig resigns

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Aug. 25, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

Cass County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Passig will resign his position as of Thursday, according to Cass County Sheriff Jim Dowson.

Passig, who was with the department for two years, is taking a position with the Wright County Sheriff's Department.

"We will miss him here," Dowson said. "He was instrumental in getting Project Alert running."

Passig operated Project Alert, which is an email listing of various recent crimes in the county sent to subscribers every Monday.

He was also active in Project Aware, a drug awareness program for elementary kids, in Longville and Remer.

"I truly believe that Cass County has a great group of deputies, dispatchers, office staff and correctional officers," Passig wrote in his resignation letter to Dowson. "I will leave Cass County with experience and knowledge that I would never have gained elsewhere."

Dowson said the position will be filled with someone from the county's eligibility list.