Community opportunity to meet law enforcement at Night to Unite

Local law enforcement and other local agencies will be in Heartland Park next week to celebrate community solidarity.
Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office and Park Rapids Police Department are hosting the annual Night to Unite on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 5-7 p.m. in the park. Sheriff Cory Aukes helps coordinate the event which he describes as, “an evening for neighbors to celebrate their solidarity in keeping their neighborhood crime-free.”
Night to Unite is open to the public and is an opportunity for Hubbard County residents to gather as neighbors to affirm their commitment as a safe and healthy community.
It’s also a chance to see a K-9 take down a “criminal” in a simulated apprehension.
“Our purpose for having the Night to Unite event is to bring public safety entities and those that we serve together,” Aukes said. “ It allows those in the community to get up close and personal with law enforcement and other emergency responders in their area.”
Other agencies attending Night to Unite include area fire departments, Hubbard First Response & Rescue, and North Memorial Ambulance. A fly-in by aircare helicopters is also scheduled.
The Sheriff’s Office will include members of its Mounted Posse, Boat and Water Patrol, Hubbard/Wadena ERU Team, Explorers Program, ATV Patrol, K-9 Unit, Sentence to Serve, Corrections and Communications.
Activities include a dunk tank, drunk goggles display, child identification fingerprints, live band, and K-9 demonstration at 6 p.m.
A light meal will be served free of charge and Sheriff Aukes encourages families to attend and get to know the local law enforcement officers. He said the event gives moms and their children an opportunity to meet and talk to a 911 dispatcher who they may have to rely on one day. They can meet and talk to their Deputy Sheriff’s and see first hand the squad cars they drive and the equipment they wear on their duty belts.
“In today’s world of dealing with the violence and issues of race, I think it’s more important than ever that kids and their parents can see just how down to earth law enforcement officers are,” Aukes said. “The ability to also interact with your local firemen, the ambulance EMTs, and to have your hair blown back when the LifeFlight helicopter lands is something that kids will remember for a long time.”