Jul. 17—GRAND FORKS — A Grand Forks City Council member, who is also a university police officer, is one of two finalists for Bismarck’s vacant police chief position.
UND Police Department Lt. Daniel “Danny” Weigel, along with Bismarck Deputy Chief Jason Stugelmeyer, are finalists for the position, a Bismarck city staff member confirmed.
Weigel has been with the University of North Dakota Police Department since 2012 and has held multiple positions with the department, including public information officer and investigations commander, as previously reported by the Herald
when he was in the running for Grand Forks’ police chief position.
Prior to joining the UNDPD, he worked as a sheriff’s deputy at the Walsh County Sheriff’s Office for about a year.
Weigel earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice and law enforcement administration from Lake Region State College in 2014, a bachelor’s degree in communication from UND in 2018 and a master’s degree in executive leadership from Liberty University in 2020.
He is currently a patrol commander.
Weigel has also been a member of the City Council since 2016. He represents Ward 1 and is the council’s vice president. If he is selected for the Bismarck chief position, he will have to step down from his role on the council. In that case, the council could either call for a special election to fill the vacancy or appoint someone from Weigel’s ward to serve until the city’s next regular election, which will be in June 2026.
Stugelmeyer commands the Bismarck Police Department’s Field Services Division, which includes animal control, car makers, investigations, patrol, specialized units, traffic and warrants, according to the city website. He has been with the organization for 24 years, and spent 15 of those years with the West Dakota SWAT Team, according to a city press release. He graduated in 2000 from the University of Minnesota-Moorhead with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
The city press release says that the two finalists will be interviewed by a panel of five Bismarck officials, including Mayor Michael Schmitz, City Commissioner John Risch, City Administrator Jason Tomanek, Human Resources Director Leanne Schmidt and Fire Chief Joel Boespflug. Following the interviews, a panel recommendation will be given to the Bismarck City Commission as part of its regular commission meeting July 22.