Meet your Cook County Neighbor: Ty Backlund
Jun 23, 2025 09:15AM ● By Editor
Images provided
A Boreal Community Media Exclusive - June 22, 2025
Ty works as a Deputy Sheriff for Cook County.
Thank you for your years of service in the military! Can you tell us a bit more about which branch, where you were stationed, and how many years you were in active duty?
Thank you, I was with the Army on an 8-year contract as a Civil Affairs Specialist. I spent 2011 in Afghanistan acting as a liaison between the US military and the local Afghan populace. Most of my time was spent at Combat Outpost Wilderness in Paktia Province, but I also worked in Khost Province. After my deployment, I had the opportunity to travel extensively. I've spent significant time in Norway, France, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Austria, Germany, Turkey, and Belarus. I'm really thankful for the opportunities I've had to see different ways of life and gain a broader perspective.
"There's no place like home", so the saying goes. How does it feel to be back in Cook County, working and raising your family here?
What is a surprising fact about you that many may not know?
My favorite hobby is incredibly nerdy: tabletop role-playing games. Most people in the hobby play Dungeons & Dragons, but that game just doesn't engage me. I've been running a weekly Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green game for the past four years with some close friends. Our games switch between pulp adventures similar to Indiana Jones and more modern investigations comparable to True Detective. We typically run shorter scenarios that take about a month to complete, but we've also finished the Horror on the Orient Express campaign, which took 6 months, and the Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign, which took 14 and a half months. It's fun to meet with friends and improv a story together.
Where is your favorite spot in the County where you enjoy spending a day off?
I'm a big-time homebody, but my favorite hike is Magnetic Rock. I also snowmobile and ATV the Gunflint Trail area. I cannot recommend the restaurants on the Gunflint Trail enough, they're absolutely fantastic!
A Boreal Community Media Exclusive - June 22, 2025
Ty works as a Deputy Sheriff for Cook County.
Thank you for your years of service in the military! Can you tell us a bit more about which branch, where you were stationed, and how many years you were in active duty?
Thank you, I was with the Army on an 8-year contract as a Civil Affairs Specialist. I spent 2011 in Afghanistan acting as a liaison between the US military and the local Afghan populace. Most of my time was spent at Combat Outpost Wilderness in Paktia Province, but I also worked in Khost Province. After my deployment, I had the opportunity to travel extensively. I've spent significant time in Norway, France, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Austria, Germany, Turkey, and Belarus. I'm really thankful for the opportunities I've had to see different ways of life and gain a broader perspective.
"There's no place like home", so the saying goes. How does it feel to be back in Cook County, working and raising your family here?
Work is often what you make of it. I’ve done my best to shape my role as a Deputy Sheriff in Cook County into something that feels a lot like being Andy Griffith. It’s a stark departure from my time as a city cop. Trust still exists here, not just between law enforcement and the public, but across the community as a whole. I hope I contribute to preserving and strengthening that sense of trust. Thankfully, most crime here lacks the maliciousness I am accustomed to. It's typically some combination of inattentiveness, recklessness, and poor decision-making, which I think we're all guilty of at one time or another. If you or anyone you know is interested in making a difference in a small community, I hope they apply to the Cook County Sheriff's Office. We are hiring more Deputies, and it's a great opportunity to make a difference.
Raising a family in rural Cook County has its rewards and complications. My wife grew up in a city of two million, so the remoteness and limited access to services have been an adjustment, especially with our second child on the way. The idea of a two-hour drive to Duluth, plus the tunnel construction, is understandably concerning. I can’t thank her enough for being so supportive and flexible in embracing a lifestyle so different from what she is accustomed to. Challenges aside, our daughter is thriving. She loves playing outside in nature and going to school, and we're incredibly grateful for the outstanding preschool teachers and assistants who have helped make this place feel like home.
For someone considering a career in law enforcement, are there any words of wisdom or encouragement that you can offer?
Put down the phone, step away from the screen, and make a genuine effort to forge friendships with people in real life that aren't based on career or politics. Self-limiting your relationships to those who share your career or political views leads to a narrow, insular life. A lot of people build a nice house of mirrors for themselves, just surrounded by reflections and trying desperately to keep out any dissent.
Put down the phone, step away from the screen, and make a genuine effort to forge friendships with people in real life that aren't based on career or politics. Self-limiting your relationships to those who share your career or political views leads to a narrow, insular life. A lot of people build a nice house of mirrors for themselves, just surrounded by reflections and trying desperately to keep out any dissent.
What is a surprising fact about you that many may not know?
My favorite hobby is incredibly nerdy: tabletop role-playing games. Most people in the hobby play Dungeons & Dragons, but that game just doesn't engage me. I've been running a weekly Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green game for the past four years with some close friends. Our games switch between pulp adventures similar to Indiana Jones and more modern investigations comparable to True Detective. We typically run shorter scenarios that take about a month to complete, but we've also finished the Horror on the Orient Express campaign, which took 6 months, and the Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign, which took 14 and a half months. It's fun to meet with friends and improv a story together.
Where is your favorite spot in the County where you enjoy spending a day off?
I'm a big-time homebody, but my favorite hike is Magnetic Rock. I also snowmobile and ATV the Gunflint Trail area. I cannot recommend the restaurants on the Gunflint Trail enough, they're absolutely fantastic!
If you won an all-expense paid vacation anywhere in the world, where would you like to go and why?
My family and I recently returned from New York City, and to my surprise, I loved it. The energy, the pace, the sheer density of people and experiences, it really opened my eyes and sparked a desire to explore more megacities, especially in regions and cultures I’m less familiar with. Tokyo is at the top of my list. A close friend is heading there this August, and I can’t wait to hear all about their trip.
