The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office is dedicated to protecting and serving the citizens of the County and Region with professionalism and pride.

• Current Sheriff: Sheriff Ross Litman began his service to St. Louis County as a Deputy Sheriff in 1992 as a patrol deputy.  He was promoted to the rank of Investigator in 2000.  In the fall of 2002 he decided to run for Sheriff of St. Louis County after learning that Sheriff Rick Wahlberg would not be seeking re-election. 

  Ross Litman was elected Sheriff of St. Louis County in November of 2002 and was sworn in as Sheriff of St. Louis County on Monday, January 6, 2003 by Judge Gerald Martin. 

• Duties: The sheriff is elected by the people for a four (4) year term of office. The duties of the sheriff are defined by Minnesota State Statute 387.03. In addition, the sheriff shall have the charge and custody of the county jail and receive and safely keep therin all persons lawfully committed thereto and not release any person thereform unless discharged by due course of law.  This duty is defined in Minnesota State Statute 387.11.

• Responsibility: The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for all law enforcement activity in the unincorporated areas of St. Louis County and the Cities of Mountain Iron, Aurora, and Buhl/Kinney.

  Law enforcement functions include: Patrol, Investigations, and Court Services. 

  The Sheriff's Office is responsible for providing boat and water safety enforcement, maintaining the County Jail and Range Lockups, providing Emergency Management for the County and overseeing the St. Louis County Sheriff's Volunteer Rescue Squad.

  To fill the Sheriff’s statutory requirements of providing full service law enforcement and emergency service throughout our 7,000 square mile county, offices are kept at the following locations: Duluth, Hibbing, Virginia, Aurora, Mountain Iron, and Buhl/Kinney. In addition, resident deputy sheriffs are stationed in the outlying areas of Orr, Cook, Ely, Tower, and seasonally, Kabetogama.

  The three major offices located in Duluth, Hibbing, and Virginia have personnel assigned to the following divisions:  Administration, Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics Investigations, Criminal Records, and Court Services (civil process and warrants). In addition, the Duluth Office personnel are assigned to Transportation, Identification Bureau, Photo Lab, and the Emergency Management Division.