{"id":38704,"date":"2026-07-22T07:24:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=38704"},"modified":"2026-07-19T11:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T16:43:09","slug":"bemidji-man-charged-after-18-breath-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-man-charged-after-18-breath-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji Man Charged After .18 Breath Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bemidji Man Charged After .18 Breath Test<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nBemidji (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>)<\/strong> \u2014 A Bemidji man faces a gross misdemeanor DWI charge following a June traffic stop.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nGeorge Micheal Sjolsvold, 44, was charged in Beltrami County District Court.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe charge alleges he drove with an alcohol concentration of at least .08.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe case remains pending. The allegations have not been proven in court.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Traffic Stop In Bemidji<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAccording to the complaint, the stop happened around 9:19 p.m. on June 12.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA deputy was patrolling Paul Bunyan Drive near Irvine Avenue.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe deputy reported seeing Sjolsvold driving a light-colored Oldsmobile SUV.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe complaint states Sjolsvold was not wearing a seat belt.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe deputy then stopped the SUV and spoke with Sjolsvold.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAuthorities reported a strong alcohol odor coming from the vehicle.\r\n\r\n\r\n

Complaint Lists Test Results<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe complaint alleges Sjolsvold had slurred speech and watery, red eyes.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIt also described his behavior as slow and tired.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSjolsvold reportedly admitted drinking alcohol before the traffic stop.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAuthorities then asked him to complete field sobriety tests.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe complaint alleges he did not complete those tests successfully.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA preliminary breath test reportedly produced an alcohol reading of .17.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSjolsvold was arrested and taken to the Beltrami County Jail.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHe later agreed to an official breath test at the jail.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThat test allegedly showed an alcohol concentration of .18.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Gross Misdemeanor Charge<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe complaint cites a prior fourth-degree DWI conviction from 2007.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nProsecutors allege that the record created an aggravating factor in the new case.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe current charge carries up to 364 days in jail.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIt also carries a possible fine of up to $3,000.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nReaders can review Minnesota\u2019s DWI laws through the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes<\/a>.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPublic court information is available through the Minnesota Judicial Branch<\/a>.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSjolsvold is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nI’m Adrian Cole, reporting for TRF News<\/a>.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCopyright 2026 TRF News. All rights reserved.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n
\"Bemidji
Bemidji Man Charged After .18 Breath Test<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Bemidji man faces a gross misdemeanor DWI charge after court records allege a traffic stop led to a .18 breath test result.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[1633,14780,16805,18829,10915,1314],"class_list":["post-38704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-beltrami-county-court","tag-bemidji-crime-news","tag-bemidji-dwi-charge","tag-george-sjolsvold","tag-gross-misdemeanor-dwi","tag-minnesota-dwi","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38706,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38704\/revisions\/38706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}