Scott Rose: From radio to law enforcement

Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose didn’t always plan a career in law enforcement. In fact, he started out as a radio announcer.
Rose is a 1987 Kasson-Mantorville graduate and although a back issue limited any involvement with sports, he did play the bass guitar for a couple different bands across southeast Minnesota and Iowa.
After high school Scott started installing carpets and a lot of the work was at the Minnesota State Capital. When he was laid off from his job, a couple of his friends who had already moved to Arizona, said they had bought a car in Kasson that they were coming back to drive to Arizona. They asked him to help them drive it back.
Scott thought “why not do this to see the area and I will fly back a few days later.” A week later when he called home, the night he was supposed to fly back, his father, Bob, answered the phone and said “are you at the airport?” When Scott said, “I hope to be back around October”, Bob said, “hold on and I will let you talk to your mother.”                              
He only had taken along a week’s worth of clothing but he enrolled at a broadcast school for a one year course. He got a job working full time at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale while going to school full time. After he finished the course, he got a job at the rock station KZMC in McCook, Nebraska.
He met his future wife, Rosie, while working there as her mother grew up in this community. Rosie was born and raised in Australia. Her mother had traveled to Australia and met her husband there, but the family moved to the U.S. when Rosie was a teenager.
Scott moved to a country station in Kansas and then to an all-news format station, and then again in McCook, Nebraska but this time KITX.
Scott and Rosie were married in June 1991 and while vacationing back in Minnesota he found a job at Laser 101.7 and KWEB station in Rochester working as production director and as an on-air DJ. His main job was writing and producing commercials. He worked there for over three years.      
His dad would tell Scott he had the “perfect face for radio.”
Scott then went to work for K&L Communications working with security for homes  and businesses setting up security cameras for many casinos across the country including Colorado and Oklahoma City. It meant a lot of travel, and he was gone a lot and missed being around his family and also their horses.
Due to his love of horses he volunteered to become a Sheriff Posse member in 1996 as he wanted to take part in parades and events.
To keep up his required volunteer hours he needed to ride along with a patrol unit and found he really loved it as he was a night person and loved helping people.
In 1997 Dave Johnson, the Kasson police chief, sponsored him to work for the Kasson Police Department and he became a part time officer to see how he liked the job. Scott decided to quit his job and attend RCTC and finished a two-year Law Enforcement Degree in 1-½ years. Scott was a full time student, worked a part time as an officer plus worked 55 – 60 hours in security at another local company, he said.
He said he didn’t sleep much back then and his boys would tell him, “Dad, you have set high standards for us so you need to show us your grades too.”
In 1999 he wrote up a request for a canine unit for the Kasson police and this was accepted by the city council. He worked full time in Crime Prevention for the Rochester Police Department, part time as a dispatcher in the Sheriff’s Office and part time for the Kasson police.            He worked all three jobs waiting for a full time job to open up as he said he really felt law enforcement was what he should be doing.
When Scott would talk with his dad, his father would say Scott would be on the bottom of the list of the Rose kids who would end up in law enforcement since he got into his share of mischief while growing up.    
Their neighbor was Bob Pike, who also worked part time for the Kasson Police department, but Scott said “I took care of the Pike’s dog when they were out of town for a few days so that probably helped to keep me out of trouble.”
He said he started doing some part time law enforcement with the Sheriff’s Office and it also gave him a chance to work with his dad before he retired.
In 2002 Dodge County Sheriff Bill Weber hired Scott as a full time deputy The first time Scott rode along with a sheriff’s deputy while training, his comment when Scott got into the car was, “I see you finally get to ride in the front seat of the squad car in Dodge County now!”
Scott worked on getting IT mobile devices in all the sheriff squad cars which was a real advancement to officer safety and communications. He worked with local businesses to get donations for tasers and other police equipment so he could go to the county commissioners to meet the required amount of money to purchase these items. Scott also helped develop the website for Dodge County Sheriff’s Office after helping the Rochester Police Department with website when he worked in their Crime Prevention department. He has worked in nearly every department in the sheriff’s office, dispatch, patrol, entry team, crime prevention, warrants and investigations.
He also encouraged and supported his friend, Capt. Loring Guenther, to run for sheriff in 2014 but when Gunther died suddenly from a heart attack in 2013 the plan changed.
He said it was Guenther that was supposed to run that year, not him. Guenther’s wife gave Scott her husband’s badge when he announced his run for sheriff and he carried it with him in his left pocket every day that year. The 2014 sheriff’s race was very close and during the 10 p.m. news, one local TV channel reported that Scott lost and the other candidate won.         
Scott had two different versions of his speech prepared but was reluctant to make an announcement to those gathered to watch the results until they were certain. When he got the final results later that night, he tore up one version he had prepared at the victory party at Daniels, and became the 26th sheriff of Dodge County.
He then gave the badge he carried each day back to Guenther’s wife telling her Loring’s work was done and it was time he went home with her. Scott continues to work with Toys for Tots, the organization that Guenther loved.
A real tough incident during his time of police work was the sudden death of Guenther from a heart attack at home after finishing his work shift but there was nothing medical personnel could do to save him.          
Scott said he called on Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson for advice.
Torgerson quickly helped with arrangements for the memorial service of a fellow police officer. It was that experience, and the help from his friend Torgerson, that made Scott want to be involved with the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association and the Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation of SE MN.
He now serves on the board of directors for both organizations. Scott has been convinced more than once to join Sheriff Torgerson in the annual Rochester Polar Plunge to raise money for Special Olympics.
Later Scott learned that 22 years earlier, Deputy Douglas Claassen didn’t realize he had received a broken neck during a confrontation until several weeks later. Claassen worked in law enforcement in Hayfield and became disabled so he had to quit the job.
Claassen had never been recognized as having died in the line of duty but he is now listed on the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial in Washington DC and his wife was able to attend to see his name added. He is also on the Minnesota Law Enforcement Officer Memorial.
Scott says this is one of the highlights of his career.
Scott is the third generation of his family in law enforcement. His grandfather, Emil Asleson, was a full time farmer and a special deputy sheriff in Divide County (located in the NW corner of North Dakota). He said his grandfather kept his pistol in the glove box of the car and being a very big, strong guy, settled some of the sheriff calls with a real “hands on” approach at times!
His dad, Bob Rose, was a full time history and English teacher at KM for 33 years and also part time at the Kasson Police and later part time for the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office for 31 years. Bob had a very unique sense of humor but stressed the need to live where you work as that way he got to know the people he worked with in the county. He also stressed the importance of doing what you love to do, regardless of the money.
Scott said he has his Dad’s 357 duty revolver that Bob carried on the job for many years. It was his Dad’s last owned duty weapon and Scott’s first.
His son, Eddie Rose, is the fourth generation in law enforcement and is married with three children. He worked with the Colorado Sheriff’s Office in 2010-2011 and has been a State Trooper for the Colorado State Patrol ever since.
Scott grew up with three brothers. Todd lives in Mantorville and is an electrician; Mark lives in California working with 3-D animation while Christian lives in Colorado as a medical illustrator. Scott said somehow I just thought two of my brothers never had a real job as all they do is draw!
The Rose’s had horses for at least 25 years but they finally gave them up as his wife Rosie (who really loves horses) became so allergic to them that she had to wear gloves and a mask to be around them.
He said he rode a motorcycle for many years, but now is sticking with vehicles with more wheels. Rosie at one time ran a day care, but now operates a very busy dog grooming business.
Scott said she fired him from doing any dog grooming but she does cut his hair however, she uses a different clipper than on the dogs!
Rosie and Scott enjoy fishing, kayaking and going up on fishing trips to Nevis, Minn., with their family. This is the same place where, when Scott was growing up, the Rose family would go on a vacation trip once a year.
Their son Alex, lives in California and works in TV production. Their youngest son, Cooper, has recently completed the tough  Arabic Levantine linguist training program at the Defense Language Institute in California and is a member of the U.S.  Army.
Scott took a pause from playing the guitar for 20 years while his boys were growing up and involved with KM school activities but when the boys left home he started playing the bass guitar once again. He has played with a Sheriff’s Office band called the “Brassholes” for benefits throughout the state a few times each year and also fills in with the local band, GT & the Gunslingers. He also plays bass guitar with the Community Celebration Church Worship band.
Scott has a recording studio at his home and does voice over commercials for concerts, small businesses, commercial businesses and various other events across the USA, Canada, Europe, Middle East and South Africa. For some reason he has never had a voice over commercial opportunity in Norway even though that is part of his heritage. He operates his voice over business at: www.scottrosevoiceover.com
Scott said even though there are a lot of issues going on across the country with such things as defunding police departments they have received a lot of support for law enforcement in Dodge County. The large number of lawn signs for “Backing the Blue” is a fund raiser for the SE Mn Law Enforcement Memorial that is planning to be built near Soldiers Field in Rochester next year.
Scott said one thing different from other area sheriffs is that you rarely see him  wearing a white uniform shirt except during formal functions as he usually wears a “soft uniform” with khaki pants and a Dodge County shirt. He says the real work done in the county is done by the men and women wearing those brown uniforms. On the street, rank doesn’t matter when they are working as a team as they all put on the badge and duty belt and do the same work.

 
He says he is no more important than any one of the deputies who put their safety and lives on the line every day and night for us!
On a personal note, when Genny and I held a gathering at the church for family and friends, for our 45th wedding anniversary, it was also a “milestone” birthday for her. She really didn’t want to celebrate her birthday so I asked Scott if he could surprise her during the gathering. His “unofficial” appearance in uniform surprised the guests including Scott’s mother, who was also in attendance, and he even put the handcuffs on Genny since she resisted celebrating her upcoming birthday!