The Stearns County deputies will be driving squad cars with a new color and new design.
For at least the last 16 years, squads have been white. The new vehicles will be black with gold lettering and a blue stripe down the side.
New Stearns County Sheriff Steve Soyka formed a group to advise on squad car design and letterhead.
“I had a general idea on the direction I wanted to go with squad car design,” Soyka said in a department newsletter. “The most dramatic switch will be from white to black squads.”
The group’s input was to have squads that are easily and readily identifiable, yet with a simple design.
“I believe we have accomplished that with this new look,” Soyka said.
A new motto has been incorporated into the design. On the back windows on either side will be “committed to our partners, our profession, our communities.”

Stearns County’s new sheriff squad cars are black with gold lettering and blue stripe.