Welcome to Kenmare

Feature Stories (Vol. 109 No. 8--2/21/2007)

New deputy is comfortable in Kenmare and Ward County

By Caroline Downs

Pat Lenertz, the new Ward County Sheriff’s Deputy stationed in Kenmare, is a Ward County native through and through.

He was born and raised in Minot, and graduated from Minot High School, where he played hockey. Then he attended Minot State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in May 2006.

Lenertz left the county briefly last fall to attend the law enforcement academy in Bismarck for 11 weeks. However, he returned to Ward County to work in sheriff’s department as a deputy after he graduated in November. And he stayed within the county boundaries when he relocated to Kenmare in mid-January to replace deputy Levi Lockrem, who transferred back to Minot.

He feels comfortable in Kenmare, even though he no longer has easy access to the hockey rinks in Minot. "I knew a lot of small town people," he said. "I knew it’d be a new experience, but I’d already met Cody Meadows and Arlen Gartner."

A future in law enforcement is a relatively new decision for Lenertz. "I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated from high school," he said, "but I thought criminal justice would be interesting."

He supplemented his classroom study with practical experience at the Ward County Jail. "I knew somebody who worked at the jail," he said. "He encouraged me to apply. I started working at the jail while I was still in college."

Lenertz considered his work at the jail as a type of internship. After nearly 15 months there, he moved to the Patrol Division when interviews opened for deputy positions. He was hired last summer, and hasn’t regretted his career path yet.

"The better parts of my decision are the people I work with, the support I get from co-workers," he said. "I enjoy the gratitude you sometimes can receive, knowing you’re doing something for somebody other than yourself."

Then he smiled. "We’ll see if that’s what I say when you ask me that in 20 years."

Lenertz is happy to be renting a house in Kenmare, although the location is not as convenient to hockey playing as his old home was. "Minot has seven outdoor rinks," he said. "I lived across from one of [them] for 18 years."

He played hockey in a recreational league in Minot, and is a devoted follower of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and the NCAA’s University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. "I’ve been a fan of them since I was 10 or 11," he said about his UND allegiance. "As a kid, we’d go to Grand Forks to play (hockey), then at night we’d go to the college games."

Once spring comes in Kenmare, Lenertz plans to spend his free time on the golf course. He’s looking forward to improving his game, with an average in the mid- to low-90s now, and meeting some of the local golfers. "I go out for the air and the good weather," he said. "It’s a good way to get the frustration out."

When he’s on-duty in the Gooseneck of Ward County, Lenertz will be involved with the new McGruff House program. "Cody [Meadows] and I can work together," he said. "I enjoy getting involved in the community programs and showing them the sheriff’s department is here, that I’m not just driving around on the roads and coming home to sleep."

Lenertz can be contacted through the Ward County Sheriff’s Department at 701-857-6500 or 701-852-1305, as well as by calling 911 in emergencies. "Depending on the situation, I will make the contact," he said, adding that some circumstances could warrant additional deputies or representatives from other law enforcement agencies.

He wants to be visible and available to his fellow residents in Ward County. "I generally work nights," he said, "but I’m always willing to go out [for a call] on my days off."