A former Detroit Lakes Schools superintendent is out of a job after being charged with DWI for the second time.
Mark Adams made local headlines in 2006-2007 after a grand jury indicted him for assaulting an area farmer after having an affair with the man’s wife. The case went to trial, where Adams was ultimately acquitted.
He cost the Detroit Lakes School District about $100,000 in salary during eight months of paid administrative leave, and two years of paid medical expenses after he left the district. Adams went on to serve as a school principal and as superintendent for several Iron Range schools.
He was named superintendent for Nashwauk-Keewatin schools in August 2008.
In June 2009, he was also named superintendent for the Greenway school district, a position he shared 50/50 with the N-K school district.
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In November 2014, Adams resigned from his position with Nashwauk-Keewatin to take over as full-time superintendent at Greenway.
Last month, Adams was placed on leave after his second drunken driving arrest in less than two years.
According to the Duluth News Tribune, Adams was charged with two gross misdemeanor counts of third-degree driving while impaired after being pulled over by a state trooper near Taconite.
Adams, 52, was fined and placed on probation after pleading guilty in September 2014 to a charge of driving while intoxicated.
School Board Chairman Bill Hoeft said Adams was placed on leave at an emergency meeting called Tuesday in response to the superintendent’s latest arrest.
Adams was pulled over by a state trooper on U.S. Highway 169 east of Itasca County Highway 7 at about 10:45 p.m. March 18, according to court documents. The stop was initiated after Adams, traveling west, allegedly failed to dim his high-beam headlights.
“When advised of the reason for the traffic stop, Adams stated that it was a new pickup and he was getting used to it,” the criminal complaint states, noting that there was a temporary tag in the rear window.
The trooper detected an odor of alcohol, and Adams admitted to having one alcoholic drink with food at a Pengilly bar, the complaint states. The trooper then had Adams undergo three field sobriety tests, all of which Adams failed.
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A breath test taken at the scene indicated an alcohol level of 0.114, the complaint states; one taken at the Itasca County Jail about an hour later indicated an alcohol level of 0.09.
Adams faced similar charges in July 2014 after he was allegedly seen urinating in the back room of a Grand Rapids Holiday store.
Authorities said he was arrested at his home after failing field sobriety tests and registering a 0.09 blood-alcohol concentration.
Adams later pleaded guilty to a charge of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, as prosecutors agreed to drop additional charges for indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.
He was placed on one year of unsupervised probation, fined $700 and ordered to attend both a chemical dependency evaluation and a Mothers Against Drunk Driving impact panel.
At the time, he declined to comment on the case to the News Tribune, saying “my job is to be a leader and a proactive superintendent of schools, and that’s what I’m doing.”
The Greenway School District is now looking for a new superintendent. The opening was posted on the district’s website April 18, available July 1.
