The Crookston Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has selected a new board member and welcomes him to the board. James Brandon has come from the Crookston Police Department and filled the open seat as Shane Mendez respectfully resigned due to a career change.
Meet James Brandon
I was born and raised in Minneapolis. As an adult, I settled in Blaine, north of Minneapolis. I served with the Minnesota Army National Guard as a Military Police (MP) soldier. I deployed to Iraq in 2009 with the 34th Infantry Division “Red Bulls.”
I worked for the Minnesota State Patrol as a Radio Communications Operator (911 dispatcher) from 2013 to 2021, first as a dispatcher and then finishing as a Radio Communications Supervisor on the overnight shift. I helped develop and start a therapy dog program at the 911 center to help dispatchers cope with some of the stress of the job. I also served on the Incident Dispatch Team (IDT), which provided specially trained dispatchers for large-scale events and civil unrest. During my time at the State Patrol, I started attending college and ultimately earned a degree in criminal justice, then earned my POST license to work as a licensed police officer.
I was looking for an opportunity to get my family as far away from the metro as I could and started looking for police jobs in northern Minnesota, part of the area I dispatched for at the State Patrol. I saw that Crookston Police Department was hiring for officers, so I applied. After a lengthy hiring process, I was accepted to the Crookston Police Department in February 2021. I enjoy working with the community and interacting with the public.
