Junita Badavinac
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

Junita Badavinac

Itasca County Sheriff's Office — Grand Rapids, MN
Accident
End of Watch March 28, 1977
Age 46
The Vigil Panel 118 ›
Gender Female

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Junita Badavinac was killed in an automobile accident while assisting at the scene of a fire. She had just finished her shift and was on her way home when she observed several kids around the fire. She had moved kids away from one side of the fire and was driving across the railroad tracks to the other side when her car struck a bridge abutment. The collision caused her to suffer a heart attack.

Survivors

Deputy Badavinac was survived by her husband and three children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MN-FE703CCA
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Badavinac served with the Itasca County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Grand Rapids community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Badavinac.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Sheriff's Office
Location Grand Rapids, Itasca County, MN
Platform Identity icso.itasca.mn.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch March 28, 1977
Age 46
Gender Female

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Deputy Sheriff Junita Badavinac is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In MN, 84 of 293 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.7% of this state's fallen. That is 28.7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Itasca County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 5 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 20% of this agency's fallen.

Itasca County Sheriff's Office
1
of 5 officers
20% Accident
MN — Statewide
84
of 293 officers
28.7% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Junita Badavinac's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Junita Badavinac Compares

Age at Death
46
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Junita Badavinac is highlighted in Mar.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897