About Mike
Michael Wedin is a Christian who lives in rural Fosston with his wife, April. Together they have three children: Joe, Reese, and Luke.
With over 25 years of leadership and public service experience, Wedin offers a proven record of accountability and fiscal responsibility to the residents of Polk County. He holds a Master of Arts degree from Concordia University, St. Paul, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Bemidji State University.
He began working as a high school truancy mentor before serving as a city police officer, county deputy sheriff, and state trooper. Wedin rose to the rank of captain, serving more than a decade as a district commander. In that role, he oversaw State Patrol operations across 13 counties in southern Minnesota before transferring back home to northwest Minnesota to lead operations across nine counties. His leadership responsibilities included personnel management, budgeting, training, investigations, strategic planning, and community engagement.
Wedin was later appointed to the State Patrol executive command staff and promoted to major. In this capacity, he oversaw the Information Technology Division and supported various statewide initiatives. He also served on the steering committee for the National Model, an innovative effort by 15 states and provinces to share cost-effective technologies and techniques to improve efficiency.
A dedicated advocate for public safety, Wedin served as co-chair of the regional Toward Zero Deaths (TZD). This traffic safety initiative focuses on reducing fatalities through education, enforcement, engineering, and emergency response partnerships across Beltrami, Clearwater, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau counties.
Beyond his professional career, Wedin has served as a short-call substitute teacher, church council trustee, youth coach, and volunteer. As president of the Headwaters Fraternal Order of Police, he led fundraising efforts for local public safety initiatives and organized the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics in Bemidji, Minnesota.
His professional credentials include graduation from the FBI National Academy and the Senior Management Institute for Police. He has received multiple honors, including the Meritorious Service Award and the Life Saving Award for acts of exceptional courage.
Committed to responsible leadership and strong communities, Wedin is dedicated to serving the residents of east Polk County with integrity, transparency, and common-sense decision-making.