Duluth officers take to Dunkin’ roof for Special Olympics fundraiser

The sight of Duluth police officers on the Central Entrance Dunkin’ roof on Friday was more than a roadside spectacle. Special Olympics Minnesota says the local Cop on Top effort has raised more than $125,000 over seven years, money that helps pay for year-round sports training, athletic competition, inclusive healthcare, leadership and advocacy training, and inclusive school programs for athletes with intellectual disabilities.

The fundraiser at the Central Entrance store was part of Minnesota’s annual Dunkin’ Cop on a Rooftop campaign, scheduled for Friday, May 15, from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Officers worked the roof while volunteers on the ground collected donations from customers stopping in for coffee. Special Olympics Minnesota says donations typically trigger a coupon for a free donut or coffee, turning a routine Dunkin’ stop into a small cash drive with a direct payoff for the organization.

The local event sits inside a much larger law-enforcement fundraising tradition. Special Olympics Minnesota says the state’s Law Enforcement Torch Run has raised more than $58 million for Special Olympics programs in Minnesota. The Torch Run Final Leg alone spans a combined 925 miles through communities each year, linking events like Cop on Top to a year-round system of awareness, donations and athlete support rather than a one-day photo opportunity.

That broader support matters as Minnesota prepares to host the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in the Twin Cities from June 20 to 26. For families and athletes in Duluth and St. Louis County, local dollars raised at a Central Entrance coffee shop help sustain the everyday parts of the program that are easy to overlook: transportation, training, coaching, medical appointments and education-related needs. Earlier Duluth coverage of the same fundraiser quoted officer Jeremy O’Connor describing those costs as part of what the money helps cover.

The event also gave the Duluth Police Department a public role outside enforcement. Officers were visible, approachable and tied to a cause that emphasizes inclusion and acceptance, the core of Special Olympics Minnesota’s mission. In a city where police are more often seen responding to crises, the roof fundraiser offered a different kind of public presence, one measured not in calls answered but in dollars raised for athletes who rely on steady local support.