La Crosse County Sheriff Helgeson announces not seeking re-election

La Crosse County Sheriff Steve Helgeson announced Tuesday he will not be seeking re-election, as his term expires this year. 

Helgeson said, “It feels right. Change is always a good thing and I think it will be for our department as well. After 35 years in law enforcement, I think enough is enough.”

Helgeson wrote his retirement was something not taken lightly and that he is “confident the timing is right as we have a number of excellent leaders prepared to take the Sheriff’s Office to next level in the coming years.”

Asked about who should succeed him, Helgeson stated he’d be endorsing Chief Deputy Jeff Wolf, who announced earlier this year he’d be running for the position.

“He’s going to a great job as sheriff. He’s got great leadership skills, is good with training. He’s held a variety of positions within our department. I’m confident he’ll bring the sheriff’s department to that next level.”

Helgeson added that one of the highlights of his career was the ramping up of mental health treatment at the jail.

“When I ran for sheriff 12 years ago, we were having an issue with the number of suicide attempts as well as the number of successful suicides in our jail. We’ve been able to increase medical staff time, hired a full time psychologist. We also made physical changes to the building to make suicide tougher. I’m proud we moved in the right direction.”

Helgeson said he’s not sure what the future holds, but he’s looking at a number of opportunities.