Excuse Me, Officer: Is There Any News Occurring Today?

  Caroline Lowe, the veteran reporter for WCCO-TV news, is also a licensed peace officer and is working as cop again this year at the State Fair. It’s her fifth fair, and she was patrolling the grounds Saturday with Officer Patrick Tapp of the Minneapolis Police Department and Officer Danielle Olson, a Crystal police officer.

The fair hires 200 officers to patrol the grounds each year; most are officers at metro police departments, including many from St. Paul, Minneapolis and Ramsey County. There is a small contingent of State Fair officers, like Lowe, who work mainly during the fair or when there are other events — live car shows or computer sales — on the fairgrounds throughout the year.

Lowe mentions her police work in her blog.

Like all of us, the officers spend a fair amount of time eating out here. Tapp, who responded to the loose bull incident on Friday (see previous posts) said he’s a big deep-fried fan, particularly cheese curds. He also really liked the new Spam curds. Olson said she eats a bit of everything, but usually has a Greek salad at Dimitri’s, by the Giant Slide, just about every day.

Lowe, who’s got a giant blister from all the walking, said she isn’t sure if she’ll be able to work the fair patrol next year. WCCO, like every news outlet in the area, will be concentrating mucho attention on the Republican National Convention, which starts on Labor Day next year. State Fair Police Chief Art Blakey is already working to recruit officers from around the region to replace the many police men and women who will be needed for convention duty by their home police forces during much of the fair run.

By coincidence, I’m sure, I found Lowe and her partners working in front of the KARE-11 television booth at the fair.

No, she was not arresting the competition.

You can find all my State Fair posts when you click here