Badges and Ladders event connects kids with police and firefighters

Squad cars, coloring pages and a fire truck drew a bigger-than-expected crowd to Miller Hill Mall as Duluth police and firefighters used the Badges and Ladders event to make themselves more familiar to children. Officer Ethan Meehan said the goal was simple: give kids a chance to meet first responders in a friendly setting and see them as people who help, not just authority figures.

Meehan said officers read books with children, joined coloring activities and showed off their squad cars during the outreach day. He said one purpose was to counter the childhood message that police are only there to punish someone or take them to jail. The fire department also took part, bringing a fire truck and broadening the event beyond law enforcement into a wider first-responder showcase.

The family-friendly setting was part of the strategy. Along with the activities, families could get discounts at participating food court restaurants and receive giveaway bags, turning the mall stop into both an outing and an introduction to public safety workers. Meehan said the turnout was larger than expected, which mattered because these events depend on real interaction between families and the officers and firefighters who show up.

Miller Hill Mall has long been a gathering place for that kind of outreach. Simon Property Group says the center draws visitors from the Duluth area, the Iron Range, Wisconsin, Michigan and Canada, and the mall has more than 100 stores. It opened in 1973, giving Duluth another public space that has hosted community programming alongside shopping for decades.

Badges and Ladders has also become a repeat feature, with Meehan saying the event has been held for at least three years. That fits a broader pattern for the Duluth Police Department, which has leaned on hands-on community events such as its holiday Blue Santa Shop with a Cop program at Target on Miller Trunk Highway. The department said 32 families and children would take part in 2025, up from 28 children in 2023.

For agencies that face public scrutiny during emergencies, the value of an afternoon like this is in the contact itself. At Miller Hill Mall, Duluth police and firefighters were not responding to a call or a crisis. They were trying to build a relationship first, one coloring sheet and one squad car at a time.