BROOKINGS (10-8-26) — Brookings Radio, in conjunction with the Brookings Beacon, continues election 2026 coverage.
Today we profile sheriff candidate Manny Langstraat — an independent candidate with 12 years experience in the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office.
Langstraat says he hopes to listen and learn as sheriff… “You have to really be transparent and meet with people and not be afraid to take their criticism. You can’t just be concrete on one stance. You have to sometimes be willing to cave your own beliefs a little bit, because it’s for the better good of what we’re doing in law enforcement. You can’t just have one idea on how to do something. We have to really be able to accept multiple ideas and figure out what’s the best path forward.”
He’s concerned about staff retention in what can be a stressful job… “We’re seeing a lot more internet crimes and really, really bad internet crimes where our investigators have to look at pictures and identify victims — and they have to do this all day. It’s really taxing on employees and investigators, so making sure that the mental health of the officers is taken care of is really going to be a big issue.”
Langstraat said he’s learned as a deputy how to treat people… “Now that I’m running, I realize just how much I learned over these last 12 years — 18 years really in law enforcement — on how to treat people with respect and have a sheriff’s office that works the right way for the people. And so voting for me would be a vote towards that same effect.”
The complete interview with Manny Langstraat can be found at https://www.brookingsradio.com/news/interview-brookings-county-sheriff-candidate-manny-langstraat/.
The election is November 3. Early/absentee voting is already underway. Starting next Monday, we’ll begin hearing from the Brookings City Council candidates.
Additional coverage of both candidates for Brookings County Sheriff can be found at the Brookings Beacon.
— Brookings Radio News
