New Ulm's finest to continue teaching

By Brian Ojanpa

NEW ULM — For Erv Weinkauf, the long arm of the law steered him toward a classroom years ago — and he remains as content there as Br’er Rabbit in his briar patch.

“I love it,” the New Ulm police chief says of his teaching avocation. “It’s my passion.”

Weinkauf will be 59 when he retires in January after 37 years in law enforcement. But in his case, retirement is a fluid concept because he plans to continue sharing his knowledge and experience with pupils ranging from college age to veteran police officers.

“I sincerely believe I bring something to the classroom that not too many others can — and that’s street experience,” he says.

“In this job, you learn it takes all types of people to make a world, and in this job you see a lot of them.”

The dual track of Weinkauf’s career began in the late 1960s. Though his father was a Brown County sheriff, Weinkauf had planned to be a Lutheran minister when he went off to college.

But when that notion waned, he curtailed his college pursuits and went into the armed services, serving as an airborne military police officer in Europe.

That whetted his appetite for a law enforcement career, and upon his return stateside, his father offered him a deputy job, which he took in lieu of going to college.

He began working his way up the law enforcement ranks, eventually joining the New Ulm police department.

In 1987 he earned a two-year degree from Minnesota State University and completed online four-year degree work with Metropolitan State University in St. Paul.

A couple of years later he decided to pursue a master’s degree from Minnesota State, then thought better of it.

“I didn’t think it was fair to be spending money on myself with kids going to college.”

Instead, he opted for training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., and for the past 14 years has taught a law enforcement skills program at MSU.

“Hands-on stuff they can’t learn out of a book, like how to handle a felony traffic stop,” he said.

He’s also taught at South Central College in North Mankato and for the Minnesota Police Chiefs Association in areas such as budget planning and media relations.

Tamara Wilkins, director of MSU’s law enforcement program, said Weinkauf’s position as an active law officer serves him well in the classroom.

“He has years of experience as an officer on the street and in dealing with people from all walks of life, and that type of experience makes him a more credible instructor in a practical sense,” Wilkins said.

Weinkauf ascended to New Ulm police chief nine years ago and efficiently handled a large personnel turnover wrought by several retirements.

“He brought stability and fairness to the system ... he’s very thorough,” said New Ulm Police Commission member James Hogan, who will be among those choosing Weinkauf’s successor.

Weinkauf plans to ratchet up his teaching pursuits in his retirement. Toward that end, he enrolled in an accelerated online master’s degree program from Concordia College in St. Paul. He graduated this week.

His plans now call for a quartet of teaching gigs: online for Concordia and Rasmussen College in Mankato, and continued classroom work at Minnesota State and South Central College.

Weinkauf likens the thrill he gets in the classroom to a sports event.

“My high from teaching is like the feeling I used to get as a mat official in wrestling. If you don’t pay attention to what you’re doing, a coach or a fan will be right in your face.”