Conversations are ongoing about creating a regional bomb squad in the Superior area, at a time when police there have responded to three calls about potential explosive devices in the last year.
A suspicious package at the University of Wisconsin-Superior this week turned out to be spoiled meat. However, Superior Assistant Police Chief Matt Markon said there are no trained teams nearby to respond.
“For the safety of the public — that’s our primary issue in the end — it would be a good thing to have a regional team,” he said.
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The problem, according to Markon, is time, money and training. The Marathon County Bomb Squad is the closest team at roughly three hours away. Sheriff Scott Parks said they’re required by law to cover 32 northwestern counties.
“The other bomb units in the area — there’s only Brown, Milwaukee and Madison for Wisconsin (that) cover the other areas of the state,” he said.
Parks said they’ve been called out 26 times this year.
Superior’s Markon said a National Guard team in Duluth used to assist with situations involving possible explosives before there was a change in protocol in recent years.
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