Minnesota Law Enforcement Explorer Association

What Minnesota Law Enforcement Explorer Association does

Minnesota Law Enforcement Explorer Association (MLEEA) is a Minnesota-based non-profit organization founded in 1996 that runs a youth career-exploration program for students aged 14 to 20 interested in law enforcement. The core product is the Law Enforcement Exploring Program, delivered through approximately 50+ Explorer Posts sponsored by local police departments, sheriff's offices, and the Minnesota State Patrol across the state. MLEEA augments this with two annual competitive conferences: the State Conference in Rochester (its 51st iteration scheduled for April 2026, expecting roughly 700 explorers) and the 29th Annual Duluth Conference at Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College, both featuring academic sessions, practical scenario-based exercises, and scholarship competition. The organization also administers memorial scholarships (Shawn Silvera, Nick Turcotte) and recognition awards (The Don Cup).

Business model revenue derives from per-attendee conference fees (e.g., $597 per Explorer at the State Conference, $75 per Explorer at the Duluth Conference, $175 for the Role Player Conference), post membership fees, and donations processed through GiveMN.org. The technology stack is minimal: the organization uses Wix.com as its website platform for membership management, event registration, and content delivery, with no proprietary software, mobile applications, API, or AI capabilities. Go-to-market is executed through direct partnerships with five Learning for Life/BSA Councils covering distinct Minnesota regions and through relationships with state law enforcement associations that co-sponsor conferences and provide role-player volunteers.

MLEEA is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors drawn from Minnesota law enforcement agencies (Minnesota State Patrol, Blaine PD, Minnetonka PD, and the five regional BSA Councils), with a youth representative seat. The organization has 11-50 employees per firmographic data, though the majority of program delivery appears volunteer-driven through sponsoring agencies. Its geographic footprint is restricted to Minnesota, with no claims of national or international operations beyond participation in the biennial National Law Enforcement Explorer Conference.

Name

Minnesota Law Enforcement Explorer Association

Legal name

Minnesota Law Enforcement Explorer Association

Website

https://mnleexplorer.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Minnesota Law Enforcement Explorer Association is a Minnesota non-profit founded in 1996 that runs youth career-exploration programs in law enforcement for students aged 14-20, delivering services through ~50+ agency-sponsored Explorer Posts and two annual statewide competitive conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Louis Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Minnesota Law Enforcement Explorer Association (MLEEA) is a non-profit organization that operates the Law Enforcement Exploring Program, connecting youth ages 14-20 with local law enforcement agencies in Minnesota for hands-on career exploration. The organization runs annual competitive conferences (State Conference and Duluth Conference), administers memorial scholarships for explorers pursuing law enforcement education, and recognizes posts through awards such as the Don Cup.

Product overview

Minnesota Law Enforcement Explorer Association operates a unified youth development ecosystem centered on its Law Enforcement Exploring Program. The core program connects young people ages 14-20 with local law enforcement agencies for career exploration and skills development. This is supported by two major competitive conferences: the annual State Conference featuring academic sessions and practical exercises, and the regional Duluth Conference. Financial support is provided through the Shawn Silvera Memorial Scholarship and Nick Turcotte Memorial Scholarship for explorers in law enforcement college programs. The Don Cup award recognizes posts demonstrating excellence in teamwork, dedication, quality, and service. A Career Fair connects participants with law enforcement agencies during the annual conference.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Law Enforcement Exploring Program Youth career exploration program sponsored by local law enforcement agencies, designed for students ages 14 to 20, providing hands-on experience with police duties and responsibilities through mock situations and regular interaction with officers.
• State Conference Annual competitive conference featuring four academic sessions, fourteen practical exercises, pistol shoot, sample police examination, and fitness run; scholarships, trophies, plaques, and certificates are awarded to competition winners. Approximately 700 explorers expected.
• Duluth Conference Regional competitive conference and competition featuring events including Arrest and Search, Domestic Crisis Intervention, Traffic Crash Investigation, and other law enforcement exercises. Limited to 40 teams.
• Shawn Silvera Memorial Scholarship Scholarship awarded to explorers enrolled in law enforcement college programs, funded in honor of Officer Shawn B. Silvera.
• Nick Turcotte Memorial Scholarship Scholarship awarded to explorers pursuing law enforcement education, funded in honor of Sgt Nicholas Turcotte.
• The Don Cup Annual award presented to the Explorer Post demonstrating teamwork, dedication, quality, and service.
• Career Fair Annual career fair connecting approximately 700 explorers with law enforcement agencies and prospective employers.
• Post Membership Membership registration system for Explorer Posts to join the Minnesota Law Enforcement Explorer Association, including member login and document access.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Northern Star CouncilcoreOthersLearning for Life Council providing support for Exploring programs. Located at 353 Marshall Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55102. Contact: Brian Swerine at 651-254-9166.
• Central MN CouncilcoreOthersLearning for Life Council covering central Minnesota region. Located in Saint Cloud at 1701 9th Ave N, St. Cloud, MN 56301. Contact: Wade Bastian at 320-251-3930.
• Twin Valley CouncilcoreOthersLearning for Life Council covering the Twin Valley region. Located at 724 Madison Avenue. Contact: Ray Braurer at 507-387-3123.
• Voyageurs Area CouncilcoreOthersLearning for Life Council covering the Voyageurs area. Located at 3877 Stebner Road, Hermantown, MN 55811. Contact: Brad Olson at 218-729-5811.
• Gamehaven CouncilcoreOthersLearning for Life Council covering the Gamehaven region. Located at 607 E Center St. Contact: Franklin Sears at 507-287-1410.
• Fraternal Order of PolicecoreOthersSponsoring organization for the 51st State Conference in Rochester, Minnesota April 23-26, 2026.
• Minnesota Chief's AssociationcoreOthersSponsoring organization for the 51st State Conference. Co-sponsored alongside Minnesota Sheriff's Association.
• Minnesota Sheriff's AssociationcoreOthersSponsoring organization for the 51st State Conference. Co-sponsored alongside Minnesota Chief's Association.
• Minnesota Chief's/Sheriff's AssociationcoreOthersCo-sponsors for the State Conference role player program. Provides support for role player recruitment and event coordination.
• Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community CollegeminorOthersHost venue for the 29th Annual Duluth Conference and Competition October 17-18, 2025 in Cloquet, Minnesota.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Police Athletic League (PAL): National nonprofit that connects youth with law enforcement through athletic, educational, and mentorship programs. Closely comparable mission (police-affiliated youth development), although PAL emphasizes sports-based engagement while MLEEA emphasizes career-exploration and scenario-based competitions.
• California Law Enforcement Explorer Association: State-level peer organization running an analogous Explorer conference-and-competition model with academic and practical exercises, scholarships, and partnerships with California POST and local agencies. The clearest state-level structural analogue to MLEEA.

Broad incumbents

• National Sheriffs' Association: National membership organization representing sheriffs and supporting youth-oriented programs including Explorer-style initiatives. MLEEA is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association, which is an NSA affiliate, making NSA a natural parent-body analogue at the national level.
• Learning for Life (Boy Scouts of America): National umbrella organization that charters Law Enforcement Exploring as one of several career-focused youth programs. Directly relevant because MLEEA's five partner BSA councils (Northern Star, Central MN, Twin Valley, Voyageurs, Gamehaven) all operate under Learning for Life, and Exploring-branded programming nationwide follows the same post-and-conference model.
• International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP): National professional association for chief law enforcement officers, including youth programs and cadet initiatives. The Minnesota Chiefs' Association co-sponsors MLEEA's State Conference, making IACP a relevant incumbent body for comparable programming nationwide.

Others

• National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: National nonprofit honoring fallen officers and operating youth engagement programming. Comparable because MLEEA's scholarship portfolio (Silvera, Turcotte memorials) is built around the same fallen-officer narrative that NLEOMF monetizes nationally, and both serve as connective tissue between active LE and the next generation.
• Fraternal Order of Police: National fraternal organization of sworn officers that sponsors youth-oriented programming and is already a co-sponsor of MLEEA's State Conference. Relevant as an incumbent sponsor-body and as a potential partner for scaling MLEEA-style programming beyond Minnesota.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth-development nonprofit with similar member-based chapters and career-readiness programming. Comparable only at the broad youth-development level — they do not specialize in law enforcement — but they compete for the same charitable-dollar and volunteer-hour pool in Minnesota.
• YMCA of the USA: National youth-development nonprofit with similar chapter-based delivery model and youth-leadership programming. Indirect peer only — they do not specialize in law enforcement — but they compete for the same Minnesota donor and volunteer base.

Regional players

• National Police Cadet Corps (UK): UK volunteer police cadet program for ages 10-18, structurally analogous to Law Enforcement Exploring in mission (youth-policing pipeline, conferences, competitions). Comparable as a model but does not compete in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/mn_leea
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/minnesota-law-enforcement-explorer-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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