SAUK RAPIDS -- The Benton County Fair in Sauk Rapids returns next week.

Sheriff Troy Heck says his department is getting ready to provide security for the event. The Sheriff's Office is the lead agency with the help of officers from the Sauk Rapids police department.

He says they'll also be using St. Cloud police officers this year and describes it as an 'all hands on deck' situation providing security both inside and outside the fairgrounds.

Get our free mobile app

Heck says even before the fights last week that shut down the Anoka County Fair, they were preparing for a larger police presence this year.

We're putting out more enforcement than we would normally have during the evenings just to make sure that people see uniformed officers walking around.  Especially the people that might think that this would be a good place to do something like what happened in Anoka.  We're going to do everything we can to make sure that people that come down to the fair to cause trouble see a police officer right away and know that's not the place to do that.

Heck says there will be more than a dozen uniformed officers on duty at the fair each evening.

During the daytime, they primarily are there to respond to medical emergencies.

Benton County covers the cost to provide security at the Benton County Fair.

More From 98.1 Minnesota's New Country