Bergquist adjusting to role as Clay sheriff

Bill Bergquist feels more comfortable each day being the 20th sheriff of Clay County.

"I'm getting more comfortable every day," said Bergquist, who describes his leadership style as noncombative.

During his first 11 months on the job, the sheriff answers his cell phone at all times of the day, talks with grieving family members and encourages his staff to present new ideas for performing their jobs.

Bergquist took office in January after residents elected him to fill the four-year term. Prior to being named sheriff, he worked as the DARE officer with the Moorhead Police Department for 12 years.

He became a police officer in 1982 when he joined departments in Glyndon and Dilworth. In 1988, he joined the Moorhead Police Department as a patrolman.

Bergquist ran for sheriff when former Sheriff Larry Costello decided not to run again for health reasons.

Bergquist said he relies on his lieutenants to oversee investigations and only steps in when they need his input.

"If someone is doing things differently, I'm not going to scold them," he said. "I like people to come up with their own styles and ideas."

Thus far, Bergquist's colleagues say his transition from patrolman to sheriff has gone well.

Moorhead Police Chief Grant Weyland said Bergquist made a difficult jump to the sheriff's position, but handles his new leadership role successfully.

As an example, the police chief credits Bergquist with stepping in to help other departments in a smooth transition into the new Red River Regional Dispatch Center.

"He has a personality that is conducive to working well with others," Weyland said. "He's been good for me and my department to work with."

Clay County Attorney Lisa Borgen said she's enjoyed working with Bergquist.

She said the sheriff makes it his responsibility to keep a public profile.

That job is not always easy, said Bergquist, who makes sure he can be reached 24 hours a day. He's made it a practice to make sure others can reach him, even back when he started volunteering with the Dilworth Fire Department in 1976.

Early in his tenure as sheriff, the department received a call that a teenage boy broke through the ice four miles south of Fargo on the Red River. Divers pulled the boy's body from the river a few days later.

"Everybody wanted to find him," he said. "It's hard for a family to put an end to it when you can't find him."

After a homicide in Hawley in September, Bergquist decided he would tell the victim's mother about her son's death.

"I located the mom in Becker County," he said. "Even in a state of trauma, they will still have questions. I feel it's my job as the sheriff to answer questions."

Bergquist also took over his department at a difficult time.

Costello retired early because of health problems. At the time, the former sheriff was embroiled in a sex scandal with one of his deputies.

Civil litigation ended that scandal in September in a $1.5 million settlement to the former deputy.

"I'm the new guy," said Bergquist, who always wanted a career in law enforcement. "To me, instead of focusing on the past, I focus on me and the way things are going to be."

He called the scandal tough on department morale. It's also difficult for the department having a new boss, but Bergquist feels the department is now past the scandal and accepts his leadership.

"The biggest transition is going from where you go to others for answers," he said of his transition to sheriff. "Now, I'm the boss. People come to me. I was born wanting to be a cop."

Readers can reach Forum reporter Michael Benedict at (701) 241-5557