Sue Sitter/PCT Officer Duane Gunville

Rugby Police Department’s newest officer, Duane Gunville, joined the force just days after graduating from Lake Region State College, but he brings with him a long family tradition of service in law enforcement.

“Law enforcement’s been in my family for years,” Gunville told the Tribune. “My grandfather was a customs officer right out of the military for 28 years. My dad was a police officer at Fort Totten for about six to eight years, I believe.”

Gunville continued, ” I have another relative who’s a customs officer right now. He’s been there for almost a year now; he’s fresh out of the academy, too. I’ve got another relative who’s a correctional officer at the Cass County Jail in Fargo, North Dakota.”

Gunville said he was glad to be working in Rugby, a community where he had briefly lived before. He’s now settling in at a new home with his wife, Shantell.

“I’m originally from Dunseith, North Dakota. I moved down here for a short period of time, where I met my wife. We moved to Towner; we’re living there, and now we’re moving back here. We’re in the process of moving now.”

“My wife’s from the Rugby-Wolford area,” Gunville noted. “She grew up here. She’s worked at the hospital now for five years, close to home.”

Gunville graduated from Dunseith High School, where he played football.

“I’m looking forward to meeting more people in the community,” he said of Rugby. “I’m looking forward to living in the community. It’s a nice place.”