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.”