Following in the career footsteps of one's father is not unheard of in the ranks of the Minnesota State Highway Patrol. Still, there probably aren't too many third-generation troopers among the ranks.
In fact, as far as Sgt. Jesse Grabow knows, he may be the first who can say that his law enforcement pedigree can be traced in a direct line back to his father and grandfather.
"My grandfather, Arlo Grabow, started with the State Patrol in 1952 and retired in 1982," says Grabow, who became the new public information officer for the patrol's northwest region on Dec. 8. "My dad, Jeff Grabow, came on in 1990 and is still serving."
In fact, father and son have even occasionally worked on the same case together since Jesse first joined the State Patrol in 1998. (His father is based at the Patrol's Fergus Falls station, while Jesse worked at International Falls and Moorhead before coming to Detroit Lakes.)
One of the factors that probably helped Grabow decide to follow his father and grandfather's career path, he says, is that he never felt pressured.
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"I'm fortunate that I was never pushed into it," he says. "It's just one of those things that you grow up around.
"My dad always came home with interesting stories about the people he'd helped," says Grabow. "He never complained about (the job), so I thought that if a person liked their job that much, it had to be pretty interesting."
The ride-alongs he did with his father and the other troopers who have influenced him through the years were also a strong factor in his decision.
After graduating from high school in Barnesville, Jesse enrolled in the law enforcement program at Alexandria Technical College and earned his two-year degree.
He was just 20 years old when he got his first job in law enforcement, as an officer with the Pelican Rapids Police Department.
"The chief there took a chance on me - he was a good man," says Grabow. "I was very fortunate to get my foot in the door."
As public information and safety officer, Grabow serves both the Detroit Lakes and Thief River Falls districts.
"I feel it's so important to get that information out to the public," he said. "I'm hoping that if we can make the public more aware of what's going on out there and how to be safe, then we can contribute to the ultimate goal of saving more lives."
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Vicki Gerdes is a writer for The Detroit Lakes Tribune
