Sheriff’s Office bids farewell to retiring chief deputy

By Zach Jensen,

Chief Deputy Jeff Berns is retiring March 16 after serving 33 years as a Winneshiek County Sheriff’s deputy. (Photo by Zach Jensen)

The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office is losing a mentor this weekend. Chief Deputy Jeff Berns is retiring Sunday after serving Decorah and Winneshiek County for the last 35 years.

“I have mixed feelings about leaving,” Berns said. “I’m excited for the additional free time and for the ability to attend family’s and friends’ events that I’ve often had to miss due to the job. I’m also a little apprehensive, because I’ve done this for two-thirds of my life. I’ve spent a whole lot of time with the people here, and they’re great people.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Northern Iowa, Berns began his law enforcement career as a Decorah Police officer in 1990. Two years later, he accepted an offer from the sheriff’s office and has been a deputy ever since. Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx said he began working with Berns when Marx first started as a jailer in 1997. Over the next several years, Marx and Berns worked together as fellow patrol deputies and night shift partners before Marx was elected sheriff.

“Jeff was one of my first mentors when I got into the law enforcement field,” Marx said. “Every time someone retires, a piece of us goes with them.”

Full article available in the March 13 Decorah Leader. 

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