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Remembering fallen Fargo Officer Jake Wallin
“He was proud to serve in both the uniform of his country and his community,” said Jonathan Norling, who served in the military with Wallin.
ST MICHAEL, Minnesota — In his own words, Officer Jake Wallin said in a video released by the Fargo Police Department, “Throughout my entire life, I’ve always wanted to work in some sort of position that had purpose behind my job and a police officer is always what kind of came to me.”
Tributes are coming in for Officer Wallin. The St. Michael native was killed in the line of duty at the age of 23.
On Friday, a gunman killed Wallin and critically wounded Fargo police officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes. The suspect, 37-year-old Fargo resident Mohamad Barakat, was shot and killed by another officer. A 25-year-old woman was also seriously wounded in the shooting.
Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski said the officers were out investigating a “routine traffic accident” when Barakat opened fire. Chief Zibolski said it did not appear the suspect had been involved in the crash police were working on. You can read more about the investigation, here.
Referring to the video FPD posted, Jake’s father, Jeff Wallin, told KARE 11’s Kent Erdahl, “I don’t know what to say that he didn’t say perfectly himself in that video… That is exactly who he was.”
Wallin is a 2018 graduate of St. Michael-Albertville High School.
STMA Football released a statement saying, in part, “Jake played linebacker for the STMA Knights and was a hard worker that always brought a big smile. The Knights Football program would like to express our condolences to the Wallin family, friends, and communities that Jake was an important piece of and will be greatly missed.”
Jared Essler, a history teacher and head football coach at STMA, said Wallin played football for STMA for four years. Essler coached him on the varsity team for two years.
“I think we’re all kind of collectively grieving as a community,” Essler said.
Essler was visiting Fargo at the time of the shooting and later learned that Wallin was the one killed.
“I just always remember his smile. He genuinely enjoyed other people and being a part of the team,” Essler said. “You could just tell he’d be successful in any sort of career path that he went into.”
The Minnesota National Guard said Army Sgt. Wallin entered into service in Dec. 2017 as a cannon crewman before deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq from Nov. 1, 2020, to July 19, 2021, with the 1-194 Field Artillery Battalion. He was currently serving with the 151 Field Artillery Battalion.
“The citizen Soldiers and Airmen of the Minnesota National Guard extend our deepest condolences to the family members and friends of Sgt. Jake Wallin. His death is a loss to our military family as well. He lived a life of service- not only to his state and nation but his community. We are grateful for his commitment to others even in the face of danger,” said Army Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke, the Guard’s adjutant general.
Jonathan Norling, who served in the military with Wallin, said, “He was one of the greatest soldiers that I have ever had the privilege to serve with. His personality, dedication, and motivation were contagious to those around him. His laughter and smile had the ability to brighten any situation. He was proud to serve in both the uniform of his country and his community. This is a tragic loss to his family, friends, brothers, and sisters both in the Army and in the Fargo PD. He will be missed, loved, and remembered by those who had the privilege of knowing him.”
Wallin was also a graduate of Alexandria Technical and Community College (ATCC) and an attendee of the American Military University.
“It’s a very tough time,” said Dr. Shawn Williams, associate dean of Educational Services at ATCC. Williams currently leads the law enforcement educational programming on campus. Williams confirmed that Wallin graduated from the two-year program in 2021. Dotas also graduated from the program in 2015.
While Williams does not personally know any of the officers involved, he called law enforcement a family and said, “I have spent a number of years in this profession myself. When this happens, you start thinking, ‘Why?’ You want to know why… but on the same token, you still remember that these gentlemen were there to serve and protect with courage. So you applaud that piece but you still think, ‘Why?'”
In the same video released by FPD, Officer Wallin said, “I don’t want to be sitting in the office wondering why I’m here every day. I want to be out. I want to be doing something that I can tell myself, at the end of the day, I made a difference somehow.”
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Rescue! – A chase, a crash and martial arts store workers race to save mother and babies in Fenton.
Employees of a Fenton martial arts school ran to the aid of a mother and her babies after the rollover crash. They said their training helped them rescue the family.
FENTON, Mo. — Employees at a martial arts business in Fenton rushed to save a mother and her twin eight-month-old babies after their vehicle was struck during a police pursuit involving federal officers on Interstate 44 in Fenton.
Surveillance video captured the moment a car being pursued by the DEA and Homeland Security struck the woman’s car on Wednesday.
Those who helped rescue them said it was a miracle they walked away alive.
The woman’s car flipped multiple times from the interstate, over the fence, and onto South Highway Drive before it landed in front of Xtreme Krav Maga & Fitness in Fenton.
“All of a sudden, I heard a car crash, screeching noise, and my fellow employee, Lindsay, was here at the front counter, and she said, ‘Oh, that’s not good,'” said Dustin Pluth, a manager at the business.
Within seconds, Pluth sprang into action, running outside to the car.
“It was just kind of an instinct thing. Once I saw the car rolling, coming to a halt, and running up to it, I found a mom and two babies inside,” he said.
Pluth cut the mom’s seatbelt off to get her out and pulled her twin babies out of the sunroof. Then another employee, Lindsay Cross, comforted the mom while walking them inside to get warm.
“She was very terrified of just being in a car wreck number one, not knowing what was going on. She didn’t know what the outcome was, and then she was obviously worried about her kids,” Pluth said.
The business offers self-defense and martial arts classes, as well as medical training and trauma-one classes, which teach people how to become first responders.
Pluth said it’s training that helped them rescue the family.
“Luckily, the good people in this scenario had a few scratches on them, but it could’ve been a worse Christmas. And as a dad, kids being injured is the worst fear ever,” he said.
Of all places for a car accident to end, Pluth said it was the best result of a bad situation.
“She got handled and cared for, and the babies were cared for probably as quickly as we possibly could do. It’s definitely a Christmas miracle that it happened here, and they came as unscathed as possible,” Pluth said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said several suspects were taken into custody following the federal police pursuit.
Pluth said the mom was a little banged up, but thankfully, they’re all doing well.
Tracie Munce, owner of Merlin’s Rest, joined KARE 11 Saturday to discuss the upcoming singalong and share a dish.
MINNEAPOLIS — A neighborhood bar in south Minneapolis is sharing a popular recipe and announcing the return of a favorite holiday tradition.
Merlin’s Rest, which has been in the Longfellow neighborhood for nearly two decades, will host its annual pub carol singalong on Sunday, Dec. 22·from 2 to 4 p.m.
Merlin’s not only has the most extensive selection of single malt Scotch and Irish whiskey in the state, but it also serves award-winning pub classics like bangers and mash and authentic fish and chips.
Owner Tracie Munce joined KARE 11 Saturday to discuss the upcoming singalong and share a dish.
Recipe: Beef Wellington
- 3lb ribeye roast
- ¾ cups Beef Stock
- Steak seasoning
- 1 ¼ lb crimini mushroom
- ½ shallots
- ¼ onion
- 4 Tbls garlic
- 1 long stalks of rosemary
- 1 TBS bisto gravy mix mixed with 1 TBS cold water
- 1 cups water mixed with 1TBS beef base and 1 TBS garlic base
- 8oz of sliced and diced thinly Ham
- Puff pastry sheets
Coat thawed ribeye with oil and sprinkle steak seasoning all over the roast, cook each side for about 5-8 minutes then transfer to a roaster with about 1-2 cups of beef stock, fat side up. Cover with aluminum foil and roast at 350 degrees for 2 hours – remove from the roaster and let rest – save the juice for gravy.
Clean and quarter mushrooms and place into a food processor, pulse into a small dice. Rough chop shallot and add into the mushroom, pulse a few more times.
Remove rosemary leaves from stem & rough chop, combine with mushrooms and shallots
In a large skillet add 1 Tbs butter and add the mushroom mixture, cook on medium-high heat until all the water has evaporated, about 15 minutes, put in a large bowl
Cube beef, take off fat, and add to the mushroom bowl
Thin, long slices of ham then chop and to beef and mushroom mixture. Salt and Pepper (about 1TBS of each) and combine
Dice onion and garlic and sauté in 1TBS butter until just browning, add juice from roasting the ribeye and about 1 cup of Beef stock. Let boil then add slowly the bisto slurry to thicken. Add a small amount of gravy mixture to the beef mixture to moisten – do not need much gravy.
Cut pastry into large squares and place into jumbo muffin tin. Add ½ cup of meat & mushroom mixture and pull puff over top of meat, pinching to seal everything in. Brush top with egg, and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Bake for 25-30 mins at 350
Add your side of choice with Wellington pie and a side of gravy.
Jamie Preuss from So Happy You Liked It joined KARE 11 Saturday to demonstrate how to DIY a hot buttered rum mix and homemade Irish cream.
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — There might not be anything more heartfelt at the holidays, than homemade gifts. While cookies might be your go-to… how about mixing things up, with a homemade drink mix?
Jamie Preuss from So Happy You Liked It joined KARE 11 Saturday to demonstrate how to DIY a hot buttered rum mix and homemade Irish cream.
Recipe: Hot Buttered Rum
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 oz dark rum
- 6-8 oz hot water
Using a hand mixer, combine all ingredients except ice cream.
Once combined, add softened ice cream, and blend to thoroughly mix in.
Freeze the mixture for at least 2 hours.
In a mug, combine hot water, rum, and 1 heaping spoonful of mixture. Stir to dissolve.
Recipe: Homemade Bailey’s Irish Cream
- 2 T cocoa powder
- 2 t instant espresso
- 1 t vanilla
- 1 t almond
- 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup cream
- 1 1/2 cup Irish whiskey, optional
Mix cocoa and espresso powder with 2 tablespoons of hot water and mix to combine.
Add all ingredients except the cream to a blender (including whiskey if you are using it), and blend to fully combine.
Add the cream to the blender and pulse to combine. Don’t blend
too long because this will start to aerate the cream and make the drink super thick!
Transfer to 1 large or several smaller flip-top glass jars. Give them as gifts or keep them for yourself!
The mix will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
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