When Pierce County Sheriff Chad Koranda took office in January 2023, he had no idea how difficult the year ahead was going to be. He’s proud of the progress he’s made and the relationships he’s built, which is one reason he is seeking re-election on the partisan primary ballot on Aug. 11 as a Republican. He is facing challenger PCSO patrol sergeant Mike McFadden.

“My first year, I take over on frayed relationships with the county board, while trying to fill the two (vacant) highest leadership positions,” Koranda said. “I get that done, get into February, one of the newest deputies gets hit head on by a drunk driver in the middle of the night. A young kid that I feel responsible for, and he’s in the hospital, a big moment of clarity for me. ‘Things have really changed now Chad,’” he told himself.

Not long after, two Elmwood kids he mentored in DARE died in a car accident, which he took hard.

“Here I am, just trying to figure out and navigate this spot, and I’m trying to figure out this office. That would be the worst milestone of a year for a community of our size. Then in April when the Chetek shooting happened with the two officers, that was close to home.”

In May 2023, St. Croix County Deputy Kaitie Leising was murdered during a traffic stop near Glenwood City. Koranda and PCSO offered support to their neighboring officers, which Koranda said is one of his biggest accomplishments as sheriff.

In June, Koranda was faced with numerous employee issues, followed by three people drowning in the Mississippi River in July. In November 2023, a man went missing in Red Wing during the opening weekend of deer hunting and people wanted to assemble and look for him. PCSO coordinated with agencies from multiple states to search for him (he was later found dead in Red Wing).

“And that was just the first year. It hasn’t stopped in my opinion. We’ve come through that. We’ve managed to get through that,” Koranda sad. “Is everyone 100% perfect and as squeaky clean as they can be? No, I doubt it.”

Koranda’s background

Koranda has been employed full-time with PCSO since April 2005. His entire law enforcement career has been spent with Pierce County. He started as a dispatcher and jailer and worked his way up to patrol sergeant during previous sheriff Nancy Hove’s tenure. He was also the department’s Use of Force Instructor, otherwise known as DAAT Instructor (Defense and Arrest Tactics).

His resume includes being a member of the county’s Emergency Response Unit and a search specialist with Project Lifesaver. He’s certified to instruct general patrol and jail curriculum. However, most area schoolchildren recognize him as Officer Chad after he served in the DARE Officer position for eight years, a role he relished.

“From a young age I always wanted to help people and law enforcement provided the best vehicle to do that. I’ve been very lucky to have met a number of people that have helped me mature and become the person I am today,” he said in August 2022.

Koranda was born in St. Paul and came to UW-River Falls, where he played Falcon football and earned a bachelor’s degree in geography with minors in criminal justice and cartography. He’s also attended Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety in Evanston, Ill., and multiple other law enforcement training courses. He has lived in River Falls since 1998; he and his wife reside there with their 8-year-old twin daughters.

“That’s the hardest part of my job,” Koranda said. “Not a lot of peers in this position have children.”

He said majoring in geography helped him learn how much he loves people.

“One of the things that I’ve learned over a long period of time, we value things that cost money. We value houses, phones, cars, monetary fortunes,” he said. “All of those can be lost and rebuilt. The things that we get for free are actually the things that we should value the most. Hopes, friendships, relationships, dreams, bodies, minds. Those are what are most important.”

He paused for a moment to read a message from a fifth-grade DARE student who commented on his positive attitude.

“That’s free and that’s one of the most important things that has happened to me within the last year,” he said pointing to the letter. “To have that effect on a fifth-grade kid, I am so unbelievably blessed. I love people and bringing them together, from all different walks of life.”

Platform

When he decided to run for re-election, he estimates he and his supporters collected about 1,000 signatures. The County Clerk verified the amount on May 20, he said. He said the number one question asked by constituents when he was collecting signatures is why McFadden is running against him.

“I don’t really know because no one has brought any issues to me or my leadership team,” Koranda said. “The office of sheriff is for the people, and if someone believes that they have a good reason and they want to run for it, then I encourage them to.”

Koranda wants another chance at the office because he feels that over the past 3.5 years, he and his leadership team have gotten a lot of good momentum that is moving forward.

“We’ve overcome a lot of challenges both inside the office and outside of it. My first year was extremely difficult, with officers losing their lives (in the area),” Koranda said. “We’ve come a long way. One of the things that I’m most proud of, I didn’t have a chief deputy or a patrol lieutenant. I feel like now they are in place taking ownership for what their positions are and we’re moving forward at a nice pace. We work together and are moving at a momentum to bring the sheriff’s office further into the future. And I care about Pierce County and I care about people. I care that the person that is in this position is doing it for the right reasons and that is the people of Pierce County.”

Koranda is proud of strides made the past few years, such as upgrading the entire department with new firearms and state-of-the-art optics. They have also upgraded the department’s armored vehicles, including a new turret on one for more safety. A new jail body scanner helps prevent people from bringing in contraband, he said. Appointing a new jail medical director and implementing new jail medical procedures has been 70 years in the making, he added.

“We are working with Dr. Miller out of River Falls, navigating on how to provide the most effective medical care for inmates at the most cost-effective price,” Koranda said.

He’s also pleased that River Falls Police Department has been brought onto the same records management system as the rest of the county’s agencies, which allows officers to see where each one is located on a map.

“We’ve also started a partnership with Goodhue County for a dive team,” Koranda said. “Last year, I fought for deputies getting a pay raise, which they got, and we still cut $700,000 from our budget to help balance the whole budget.”
This was accomplished by putting off buying some cars, postponing obtaining a couple of drones, “digging into the weeds” on employee benefits and insurance and how they affect overall budgets, and staff vacancies.

“We went really close with the magnifying glass and trimmed as much as we could. We make vehicles and uniforms go a little bit longer,” Koranda said.

He is also proud of a partnership with Chippewa Valley Technical College’s Law Enforcement Academy, which allows first-year students to get real-life experience in the profession as jailers in Pierce County while attending school.

“We sponsor people to go the academy,” Koranda said. “To save taxpayer money, we hire them at a part-time wage, they go to school, then on successful completion, they can be hired at a full-time wage. They get involved in the profession where we get a lot of out of it; they get to build experience in a profession where it’s hard to get it.”

He admits there are risks with sending people to school, who might decide the job is not for them and quit or move on to another agency.

“No matter what, our payback comes when it comes to how they talk about us, if they’re treated right,” Koranda said. “It’s no secret that my platform is the relationships built and maintained.”

He also appreciates what it has taken to repair and maintain a solid relationship with the county board.

“That’s a tough, tough thing to do,” Koranda said. “One of the other things is the maturing I’m doing and finding out new things about myself while being of service to others. I’ve really come to terms with the fact that I want to be of service to others and that’s okay and that’s good. That is definitely a noble thing. I’ve matured in my thinking and my focusing on things. It’s not done; it’s a never-ending task. Learning and overcoming problems that I would never even dream would pop up.”

Koranda said he’s also developing a peer support group for staff members with a new focus on staff mental health, both short- and long-term.

“I hope to build on that into the future, to have clinical visits for officers in the future and I’m working toward that,” he said.

Challenges

Koranda admits the department still has challenges to overcome, especially in staffing. He said having 60 officers on staff would be meeting the minimum requirement, which is decided by the county board. On a memo, about 10 positions were vacant but Koranda expects them to be filled soon.

“Because we have to run at a bare bones minimum, if someone gets sick, quits, resigns, is fired, it affects everyone,” Koranda said. “People have to work more, they have to work longer; we can’t get people to trainings because they have to help fill the shifts. This creates burnout. We’re a 24-hour operation. We can’t just leave the work unfilled. Operating at our minimum staffing level is a problem.”

Koranda said having to staff the new courthouse is something he will have to navigate once it opens.

“We have to reimagine how we’ve done things historically. Our current roster spot and space is very reflective of what it was in the 1980s,” he said.

Ideally, he would like to have five patrol deputies on the roads in a given shift. Realistically, he sees that number being four; at minimum, which sometimes happens, there are three, he said.

“What would be very important for us, would be to add at least four extra road and corrections deputies, to allow for us to remove the sergeants from the day-t0-day schedules and tasks and allow them to be in more of a supervisory role,” Koranda said. “Last year I petitioned county board to add four road deputies and reclassify some of the office staff positions to better reflect the extent of the work that they do, that maybe isn’t recognized in my opinion. And 99.9% of our overtime is vacancy fill.”

Koranda said the county is going to be undertaking a job study and PCSO is part of that.

Another challenge is purchasing equipment within a tight budget, especially with inflation and rising costs.

“One of the hardest things for a law enforcement agency, budget wise, is being able to accurately project the cost of things that we need to use,” Koranda said. “The budget must be in by September; we get quotes in April and May, and a lot of things can change by September which are subject to inflation. To be able to do that is very difficult. A lot of the tools that we use are very unique to law enforcement, and the companies control the market.”

When asked why the DARE officer position, most recently held by Brette Huppert, is vacant, Koranda directed the question to the county’s Finance & Personnel Committee due to possible litigation. F&P made the decision in closed session.

“We are currently looking for people interested in the DARE position and reimagining what it is,” Koranda said. “For the longest time, Pierce County has been very unique in that it is teaching DARE in separate school districts doing it, in different jurisdictions.”

Koranda said he is working to put together a county-wide school safety meeting with the six superintendents and all chiefs of police.

“I recognize in my opinion that our most important mission is keeping our schools safe,” Koranda said. “As I see the DARE position change, I feel that there is a way for us to get more out of the position, rather than just delivering curriculum. It helps outline what does the DARE officer do when there is no school. That has always been a question.”

Why vote?

Koranda said Pierce County citizens are special because they’re hardworking and come together when needed.

“They’re approachable,” he said. “All of the things that make it what I want it to be. One of the things that I stick to is yes, I am the sheriff, but I’ve been clear that the citizens are what give the sheriff the power. The people, the relationships that I’ve built are some of my best friends. I have spent the majority of my adult life in Pierce County and it’s home now. I enjoy the people here, I enjoy the fact that I was born and raised in the inner city and I have two daughters that can go out to a farm and feed the calves; all these things that I didn’t have any exposure to.”

Koranda said people can express their concerns and differences respectfully.

“I have gone to every Democratic caucus there is and created relationships with them,” he said. “We have a lot of the same shared beliefs. That’s what I like about the citizens of Pierce County. We recognize that there are differences, but we empathize with each other. They know that they are responsible for the choices that they make.”

Koranda wants to give credit to Hove, who he said has been a good support system for him as someone who understands the office that she held for 16 years.

“She understands that there are an infinite numbers of things that I know and I can’t share that just weigh on you and need to be navigated for the bigger picture,” he said. “All 42,000 residents in this county, their safety and well-being becomes my interest.”

He also said he can’t speak highly enough about Patrol Lt. Andy Thoms, Chief Deputy Collin Gilles and Jail Administrator Ali Verges.

“Also, the guys and the gals that do the day-to-day work that really reflect how well things are going. Couldn’t be more thankful for what they do. For the everyday person that goes to work, who never gets a light shined on it. That the community doesn’t see, doesn’t know and I don’t always do the best job telling them that I see it, but I do,” Koranda said.

When asked why people should vote for him, Koranda said because his track record is known.

“I have the experience in this seat. I’ve accomplished many things and I’ve identified things that need to be accomplished and I’m working towards them,” he said. “This isn’t a vision for me; this is a reality. We’re doing it. And I think I’m doing a good job, and I deserve another term to do it. And I downright genuinely care. I don’t know how to sum it up anymore. I recognize that the office of the sheriff is power of the people, and I’ve been trusted to navigate it and I think people should know that’s it’s an important thing that they’re voting for.”