Your Friendly Neighborhood Train Guy

Jerry Lenssen is a local treasure deserving of his 15 minutes

WRITTEN BY: BEN HANSON PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

In a quiet corner of south Moorhead, a lifelong devotion hides in a modest two-story with a single stall garage, the locomotive-shaped mailbox the only clue to the historic fun inside.

I ended up at Jerry Lenssen’s house because tucked away in storage for nearly half a century, a dusty box of mismatched model trains that belonged to my father-in-law waited for a second life. The problem was nobody in my family had the first clue what to do. So off my wife went with her father’s toys to the now-closed Hobby Hut for a consultation.

“Oh, you’re going to want to go see Jerry,” the owner told her, a referral he’d repeated going on thirty years.

Three hours later my wife returned emptyhanded, but with a story to share. “It’s a museum,” she recalled, as she went into details about Jerry “The Train Guy.” I heard a tale of wall-to-wall model trains, an office stocked with parts, and of a man devoted to his passion.

Sounds like a story, I thought to myself, imagining a Wonka-esque character barricaded inside a funhouse of his own making.

A Family Tradition

I missed it at first. The train mailbox didn’t catch my eye until I walked back to my truck in a daze of childhood wonder at what I had just seen.

Jerry was excited to welcome me in, opening the side garage door before I even had the chance to knock. He was dressed in a plain red sweatshirt outlining his Kris Kringle figure…and jolly, kind-hearted demeanor. I was about to enter his workshop, but not before a quick tour of the garage that housed his vintage cars… which he drives.

The past is everywhere you look at Jerry’s. It’s alive. It’s being used, tinkered with, restored and enjoyed.

Growing up on a farm near Litchville, N.D., trains were always a part of his life — the Northern Pacific passenger train rumbled through the family land up until the mid sixties. Before the line was decommissioned, his father bought tickets for a single ride to the next town over just to give his kids the thrill.

His first model train, an American Flyer given to him by his father, still sits in his collection. He recalled days playing up in the top floor of the farmhouse, piecing together different displays, each with its own story. In the winter, the trains would sit idle until the weather turned warm enough to go back up.

For Jerry, it’s the hands-on piece that is the most valuable. He returned to a familiar mantra throughout our visit, explaining how model trains get kids into a real craft that involves working with their hands and minds.

“It’s a good hobby for the kids,” Jerry said calmly. “All they do is look at their screens these days, but this gets their hands on something… something that isn’t quite as stressful.”

Always a Bucket List Item

With his affable personality, constant smile and gentle confidence, Jerry’s longtime career as a traveling salesman came as no surprise. He worked for Goodyear for seventeen years, driving across the region selling tires. For another seventeen years, he “ran tow truck” for Bud’s Amoco.

“As soon as our son graduated from high school,” Jerry recalled, “my wife and I started a business cleaning office buildings in the evenings to help pay for college.”

Still a doting father, Jerry speaks of his son more glowingly than any of his passions. But he does give credit to model trains for teaching his son focus and discipline.

“It’s a very good hobby for kids,” Jerry reiterated, “as it keeps them out of trouble. My son always had something to do. Run trains for a little bit, go study, come back to the trains. They also learn the value of money when you go to shows. They learn to scout and decide what’s worth what.”

As Jerry dug out a box of photographs to show off the trains he and his son worked on together, I wondered what, if anything, he felt was missing from his collection, which dates back to 1926.

“Oh yeah, there’s always something left on my bucket list,” Jerry chuckled. “There’s always an American Flyer car, some that are very expensive.”

He paused to pull out his phone from his shirt pocket.

“This is an American Flyer Northwestern Reefer car going for $3,200,” he said, handing me his phone. “I could've bought that car in Kansas City for $1,200 and I didn’t, even though I had the money in my pocket.”

Yet during two hours I didn’t see a hint of regret in Jerry’s eyes. He maintains the enthusiasm of a toddler, especially when it comes to introducing his favorite hobby to the next generation.

“Every kid that comes to my booth,” Jerry said, “I send them home with a free car. And I let them pick. The last show I probably handed out 100 cars. I like to send them home with a start, ya know?”

A drop in the bucket for Jerry “The Train Guy,” and his answer to what the good life means to him: sharing his passion.

“The passion is still pretty strong,” he said. “It’s always something to do. With model trains, you can display them, you can fix them and you can run them. You’ve got three things to always do…it’s a great hobby.” •

West Fargo’s finest firefighter has four paws, a tail, and a crime-fighting snout

WRITTEN BY: HILLARY SORENSON PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

Mika’s coffee-colored eyes looked lovingly at John Neeb, her K-9 handler of three years. The day had started like any other typical Monday. Eva, a German shepherd and Mika’s best friend, initiated a game of tag while John and his family completed the monotonous morning duties that plague most American families. Mika had been looking forward to easing into her Monday; maybe she would play a game of catch, or she and John would do some training, then John got the call. And Mika knew it was time to put her snout to work.

From the outside, Mika is like any other black lab. Her energetic and playful demeanor brightens the darkest rooms, and her mere presence lights up the faces within the community of West Fargo. But Mika isn’t just a black lab who lazes around the firehouse hoping to catch glimpses from West Fargo’s finest. Mika is an arson pup, and she has a huge responsibility and purpose for the West Fargo Fire department.

Who Are Mika and John Neeb?

At the beginning of 2015, John was working in business administration but desired something more fulfilling than the typical nine-to-five, so he started volunteering at the West Fargo Fire Department. The end of 2017 into the beginning of 2018 marks a historical time for the West Fargo Fire Department as the department switched from a volunteer basis to a full-time entity. John is the first in the history of West Fargo Fire to be a full-time Fire Inspector and K-9 handler.

Mika, the five-year-old Labrador retriever hails from Michigan. Mika’s pawsome journey toward becoming an arson K-9, or Accelerant Detection Canine (ADC), began when the State Farm Arson Dog Program picked her up following a short stint as a seeingeye dog. Mika’s fun-loving and energetic personality didn’t quite fit the responsibilities of working with the disabled, and as with all canines in the program, she went from a disability assistant to a crime-fighting dog-O.

“We were looking at ways to expand the department and have more options,” John said. “My boss, Dell Sprecher, started looking into programs that we could get involved in. We researched and talked to other departments and chose the State Farm Arson Dog Program. And we were put on a two-year waiting list.” The anticipation of Mika’s addition to the fire department concluded in August of 2020 when she finished and passed her 200-hour training that Maine Specialty Dogs developed and teaches. The fourweek training course is put on by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Gray, Maine. State Farm has been a sponsor of the program since 1993, and as of 2023, the program has successfully trained 425 canines including Mika.

A Day in The Life of Mika

Just like most first responders, Mika and John don’t have a set schedule and are on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “But if I could make a typical day,” John said. “We’d get up, and I’d let her outside to play with Eva. Then we’d go to work and do basics at the first opportunity, which is the easiest way for her to get fed.”

Arson pups are food-reward canines, which means they have to perform an accelerant exercise in order to eat. “Basics” is where Mika seeks out a fuel-soaked cotton swab placed in an aluminum paint can among other empty cans. “I’d do one exercise maybe in the morning and then multiple exercises in the afternoon,” John said.

Due to the type of activities and training Mika is required to achieve in order to consume her meals, she only eats from John’s hand and never a bowl. John said that some days Mika eats upwards of five cups of food a day depending on the number of exercises they’ve performed. “It keeps her mind and stomach out of sync so she is always prepared and willing to work because she doesn’t know how much food she’s going to get.”

John also keeps Mika on a diligent exercise regime, and they typically go out walking four or five times a day. “And thanks to the West Fargo Police Department,” he said. “I have been able to put her on a K-9 treadmill as well.”

When a working fire is called out, this is when Mika’s inherent abilities and learned skill set are put to the test. The average dog’s nose is tens of thousands of times stronger than that of a human. An ADC, like Mika, is trained to confirm or eliminate the possibility that an accelerant was located at the fire. If Mika sniffs out an accelerant, she will sit at the location, and John will mark it. Once Mika’s job is complete, it is up to the local jurisdiction’s fire investigator to pull the evidence and send it to a lab for testing. “There are a lot of different variables when it comes to saying whether something is positive or not for an accelerant,” John said. “Mika is a very good arson K-9.”

There are just 100 ADCs in the US and Canada. Which means, John and Mika stay pretty busy, and they aren’t restricted to the West Fargo area. “We could get called out in the eastern half of North Dakota to the western half of Minnesota, and we have responded to 123 fires and 40 demonstrations,” John said. As part of Mika’s continuing education, she must respond to 50 fires and recertify annually.

Mika is also a great public educator and when she isn’t fighting crime or sniffing her way to snacks, she’s hanging out with the locals to teach about fire prevention. “October is fire prevention month, and every year we teach kindergarten through thirdgrade fire prevention,” John said. “She loves being the center of attention and being around kids.”

At Home with The Dynamic Duo

In spite of Mika’s incredible capabilities, when at home, Mika is an ordinary family pet who plays with the family’s other dog, protects John’s kids, and cuddles with his wife. “Anyone we are with loves her and she loves them back,” John said. “She does keep me pretty busy, but other than the amount of extra work at night or training, she hasn’t changed our family. But I do want to thank my wife for always supporting me.”

As a working dog, Mika has a minimum working life of five years and a maximum of ten, and when she retires, she will either become a station dog or stay with John and his family furever. John said that once she retires he would love the opportunity to handle another K-9 because the experience has been an extremely positive one, and he credits that to the support of the community, city commissioner, fire marshal, fire chief, and his family.

“Mika and I are together 24/7,” John said. “She works with me, she comes home with me – we make a really good team.”

“The Good Life for Mika means getting enough food and working enough fires. And also… her favorite thing of all is just playing with other dogs,” John said. “And for me, it means watching my kids grow up, maintaining the K-9 program, and just having a great family. And potentially getting another K-9 when Mika retires. It’s really something special to have a K-9 with me 24/7.” •

“The city and commission, fire chief, fire marshal – they’ve been wonderful supporting the K-9 program. And they love having Mika around. When people walk through the door, they just immediately smile because of her.” – John Neeb

50 Years!