Police department gets bike patrol

Members of the Blooming Prairie Police Department won’t just be patrolling the streets in SUVs this summer.
Last Wednesday, Minimizer owner Craig Kruckeberg presented Police Chief Greg Skillestad and Sgt. Mark Lang with one of two police bicycles the department is receiving, the result of a $5,000 donation from Kruckeberg. The bike was handed over during a brief ceremony in front of Minimizer’s office.
Officers will patrol the city’s streets day and night.
“We want to be approachable,” Skillestad said about being able to connect more personally with residents while on a bicycle.
Both Skillestad and Lang have experience with bike patrols; Lang was involved with them in Austin, while Skillestad did the same while in the Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 
Skillestad said the ability to be visible when needed — as well as invisible when needed — is among the bikes’ benefits.
“We can be visible or can surprise those who are not doing the right thing,” he said.