(10/23/2024) Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. For Anoka County sheriff Brad Wise, a 1982 graduate of Coon Rapids High School (CRHS), it’s more like two or even one degree of separation if you have ever lived in the City of Coon Rapids.
Wise and his family moved to Coon Rapids from Madison, a western Minnesota farming community, in January of 1977 for his seventh-grade year at then Coon Rapids Junior High.
“I remember my parents saying, ‘It’s a big school, it’s probably going to be intimidating, and good luck,’” Wise said. “Fortunately, the school, and I’m sure it is still this way now, had a pretty good understanding that it’s a hard transition for a kid to make.”
The power of personal connection
Wise remembers the student assigned to show him around the school and helped him acclimate to his new school - a personal connection that impacted a kid from a small town. Those personal connections followed him into high school as he transitioned to an even bigger school with a class of over 700 students.
During his sophomore year, Wise was enrolled in a drafting class with Mr. Miller. Miller’s wife taught at junior high school and told her husband about Wise.
“He knew of me because he had a conversation with his wife,” Wise said. “It was such a big school and he knew my name and that impacted me.”
Wise joined the downhill ski team at CRHS, led by Mr. Miller as the head coach.
“It’s fond memories like that,” Wise said when reflecting on his time at CRHS. “He taught me the importance of relationships; having a good memory and circling back with people that you have bumped into during your life.”
A connection to community and service
Upon graduation, Wise attended college with thoughts of working in business and he even spent some time as a history major. He worked in the hospitality industry, first in restaurants and eventually in hotel management. It was there he was introduced to law enforcement through the security staff.
“It was just sort of the culture that I saw in those police officers working under that I wanted to be a part of,” Wise said. “The fun part about law enforcement is that no day is the same in that you’re helping people that are really in need, but the service is the same.”
Wise was drawn to working with people and making relationship-based connections. He began his career in law enforcement in Robbinsdale and eventually was able to return home to serve with the Coon Rapids Police Department (CRPD). He spent 27 years with CRPD, serving a variety of roles including patrol officer, detective, patrol sergeant, and investigative captain. Wise served seven years as the School Resource Officer at Northdale Middle School and was appointed Chief of Police in 2011, a position he held until he retired in 2022.
“I loved being a part of CRPD,” Wise said. “I loved knowing everybody, like here at CRHS. This city was very important to me and this school has always been important to me.”
Wise joked that he can’t be trusted with free time. Soon after he retired from CRPD, Anoka County Sheriff James Stuart also announced his retirement, creating a potential segue for Wise, who knew he was going to do something after he retired.
Wise was elected and sworn in as the 18th sheriff of Anoka County on January 3, 2023. He leads a team of approximately 300 staff and volunteers serving 21 urban and rural cities with a growing population of 351,373.
“That was a unique challenge, running for office as opposed to interviewing for a position and being appointed,” Wise said.
Wise also said that to have a great law enforcement agency you need four things, support of the citizens and elected officials whether it is school boards, city councils, or county commissioners, you need to have a positive office culture, and competitive wages.
“Most of those things are relationship-based,” Wise said. “The relationships are built one at a time. I am very proud of the 10 police departments, run by 10 different police chiefs in Anoka County. I think all of them are phenomenal. We work in collaboration to provide public safety and I don’t know how you could do it better than we are doing here in Anoka County.”
A lot has happened since moving to the big city as a seventh grader, but Wise has found a common theme along the way, relationships and connections make a difference.
“For a long time, I’ve recognized the more you give, the more you receive,” Wise said. “Every positive interaction or thing I have done for someone else, has always come back.”
