By Grace Jacobson / News Director

MEIRE GROVE, Minn. — A man is in custody after an almost five-hour standoff earlier this week in Stearns County.

Just after 9 a.m. Monday, Stearns County Deputies and other officers responded to the scene of a possible domestic at a Meire Grove apartment.

The suspect, 42-year-old Joseph Vankirk, was also the subject of a felony arrest warrant for second-degree arson from an incident in Albany in Aug. of 2022.

From the hallway of the apartment, deputies tried to make “verbal contact” with Vankirk but failed. For over an hour, they then tried to contact him by phone and PA announcements from squad cars.

Around 11 a.m., the Stearns-Benton SWAT team was called where they evacuated the building before further phone and PA announcements were made to him.

Shortly before 1 p.m., Vankirk finally responded but said he wouldn’t cooperate with deputies.

The SWAT team then utilized force to open the apartment door. That’s when Vankirk began to respond to commands and was arrested on the domestic assault and warrant charge.

He is held at Stearns County Jail.