Blog Archive: May 2017
May 25
You’ve seen it in the news. You’ve heard about Minnesota lawmakers discussing it. And now there’s an actual Minnesota law on the books that allows Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) to meet the requirements of the federal REAL ID Act. Gov. Dayton signed it into law last week. Why is this important to average Minnesotan? Barring an extension, the federal government will require a REAL ID in order to board a domestic commercial flight as of January 22, 2018. And without a REAL ID, you’ll still need another piece of ID in addition to your state driver’s license to visit federal facilities...
May 22
A big part of any job you love is passion. For example, if you wanted to become a Minnesota State Trooper, your passion might be getting drugs off our state’s highways or catching distracted drivers. The troopers we talked to are no exception. Trp. Andrew Larsen, for example, has a “passion for traffic enforcement and removing impaired drivers off the road in an effort to prevent crashes.” And Trp. Karla Bearce is passionate about crash reconstruction investigations. Trp. Aaron Myren’s passion, on the other hand, lies in criminal drug interdiction...
May 18
When you think about the phrase “practice makes perfect,” it might bring to mind evenings of cajoling your kids to practice their musical instruments or learning that new software when you started your job. But to the folks in public health, emergency management and firefighting, that phrase means being prepared so that they’re not taken by surprise in worst-case scenarios. That’s why emergency managers and key partners in Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region gathered for a tabletop exercise called “Ring of Fire,” which was based on a 2011 catastrophic wildfire in Texas...
May 15
Specialization. Service. Mentorship. The fun part of talking to troopers about why they love being in the Minnesota State Patrol is that everyone has a different answer. Troopers Cody Kisor and Jill Krause are no different. When we wanted to know about the unique skills they bring to the State Patrol, Trp. Kisor told us it was about passion. He is driven to do his very best at his job every day, and is passionate about “creating and achieving personal goals.” Trp. Krause’s answer had more to do with her life before the State Patrol...
May 11
The thing about rainy day funds is that you never really think about them until you need them. And aside from a handful of people in the Department of Public Safety’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management division, the Minnesota Disaster Assistance Contingency Account is the same way. The people of Freeborn and Kittson counties are certainly thinking about that rainy day money, though. That’s because they’re the first two counties to receive State Disaster Assistance in 2017...
May 8
You could say this isn’t Trooper Tesa McLeod’s first rodeo. In fact, she was already in her 30s when she was hired by the Minnesota State Patrol. She believes that the unique skill she brings to her work isn’t so much as a skill as a depth of knowledge about life in general: “I feel, because of my age, I bring years of life experience to my day-to-day work.” And to be sure, Trp. McLeod’s day-to-day work isn’t easy: She spends her days providing assistance, education and enforcement to those on Minnesota’s roadways, as well as working with other law enforcement agencies...
May 4
“The day she died, time came to a standstill.” That’s how Vijay Dixit describes the effect of his daughter Shreya’s death at the hands of a distracted driver. Shreya was a passenger coming home for a visit from UW Madison when the driver reached for a napkin, lost control, and crashed the car. Shreya died on the spot. Vijay and his wife attended grief counseling, where they were told that “if we didn’t do something positive for ourselves, we’d be in asylums.” So Vijay started speaking...
May 1
You wouldn’t start any career without getting to know someone in the field, right? Nor would we want you to. So we thought if you’re thinking about joining the Minnesota State Patrol, you might want to meet Troopers Patrick Beuning, Amy Churchill and Kyle Goodwin. We asked them a few questions about what it’s like to be a state trooper, and we think you’ll be interested in their answers. The main thing everyone is wondering, of course, is why they chose to become a trooper...
