Wabasha celebrates employee anniversaries

At the July 2 Council Meeting, the Wabasha City Council celebrated three employees who collectively bring decades of experience and longevity with the City of Wabasha- Heidi Johnson celebrated 25 years with the Wabasha  Police Department, Officer Rob Venz and Officer Ben Swanson both celebrated 10 years of service.

Heidi Johnson is the records specialist of the Wabasha Police Department.  She is the backbone of the department and is in charge of day to day operations.  After 25 years of service for the City of Wabasha, Heidi is a master at her craft and we could not function without her ability and knowledge of her job. With ever changing regulations, she helps facilitate those changes with record retention. She has seen a lot after 25 years of services and her history of the Wabasha Police department and of the City is critical knowledge that helps the department.

Officer Ben Swanson and Officer Rob Venz are both celebrating 10 years of service.

Officer Rob Venz started his career as a teacher in Rochester, Dover Eyota, and Plainview. He joined the Wabasha Police Department as a full time Officer in 2014. He excels at his role as school liaison officer since he took that position in 2018 and has been the perfect match for bridging law enforcement and the staff in the Wabasha-Kellogg School system. He goes well above and beyond just the normal 40 hour work week he puts into the school and in leadership roles in the community. He also oversees thorough background checks for the City of Wabasha and Wabasha County.

Officer Ben Swanson has worked most of career with the Wabasha Police Department.  Ben is our firearms instructor and is a part of training not only our department but all of the surrounding departments as well.  Ben is also an evidence tech and is in charge with the handling of all the evidence that comes in and has the task of processing everything correctly and getting certain evidence shipped out the BCA for analysis.  Ben also plays a crtical role as a floating shift Officer and this flexibility, helps ensure the police department can fill shifts with minimal overtime.

Congratulations Officer Swanson, Officer Rob Venz on your 10 years of service to our community and to Heidi Johnson for your 25 years of service. The Wabasha Police Department would not be able to provide the excellent and high quality public safety service to the community without your dedication.