The Good Life – March-April 2021

ON THE COVER | MARK EMPTING
Sheriff of Clay County and
Fire Chief of the Dilworth Fire Department
WRITTEN BY: MEGHAN FEIR
PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
Mark Empting, fire chief of the Dilworth Fire Department and the new sheriff of Clay
County, has a long history with the area surrounding Dilworth, Minn. As a kid in the
‘70s and ‘80s, the small town of Dilworth was different than it is now. The railroadcentered
community is still close-knit and welcoming, but back then the residents
consumed a lot more spaghetti.
Growing up on the south side of the tracks in an area dubbed “Little Italy,” Empting
was primarily raised by his mom and grandparents, all full-blooded Italians. That part
of the community was where many Italian immigrants had settled a few generations
before.
Neighboring the rambler-style home his dad had built, Empting and his family were
surrounded by aunts, uncles and cousins.
“I lived within a stone’s throw of them. You really couldn’t get away with much in
Dilworth because everybody knew you,” Empting said. “I had family in darn near every
corner. It was a small town and you knew everybody. If I did do something wrong, it
didn’t take long for mom to hear about it. By the time I came home, she’d already had
a phone call telling her what had happened.”
"It was a small town and you knew everybody. If I did do something
wrong, it didn’t take long for mom to hear about it. By the time I came
home, she’d already had a phone call telling her what had happened."
Despite the unnerving sapience of loving yet watchful eyes, Empting’s childhood had
a lot of freedom.
“It was a time where you left the house at 10 in the morning and came home at dark.
It was fun. If your mom needed to get a hold of you, she knew about one of five places
she could call,” Empting said.
18 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com