Blog Archive: May 2019
May 30
When Nigel Perrote was in high school in Green Bay, Wisconsin, he thought he might like to work for the FBI on tribal issues. Perrote is the tribal liaison for the Department of Public Safety (DPS) Office of Justice Programs (OJP). He is also an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin who “stumbled into the public safety field by accident” and has been helping solve issues of victimization and violence in American Indian communities ever since. It’s a role Perrote feels fortunate to play, he says, because “In the American Indian community, the rates of violence and victimization...
May 29
Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Tsunamis. We may not get certain types of natural disasters in Minnesota – but did you know we’re still one of the most disaster-prone states in the nation? When you combine long, harsh winters with more than 10,000 lakes and lots of rivers, we get our fair share of flooding. Take this spring, for example: between snowmelt, rainstorms, and winter storm Wesley, Minnesota’s public property and infrastructure – roads, bridges, utilities, public buildings, parks and the like – suffered quite a bit of damage between March 12 and April 28...
May 23
When Kathy Cooper realized her 15-year-old daughter, Meghan, wasn’t wearing her seat belt, she pulled off of Highway 56 and insisted Meghan put it on. It was the spring of 1999, and they were headed to Rochester to shop for prom. Meghan complied, but she wasn’t pleased. “Mom, you’re so dumb. It’s not even the law!” Sadly, Meghan was right. Weeks later, on June 9, 1999, she was killed when she was ejected from the back seat of a car in a crash. She wasn’t wearing her seat belt. Later that summer, it occurred to Kathy to wonder what the law actually was...
May 20
When we say “Call before you dig,” we’re not just talking to those people in hard hats who work for construction companies and operate giant backhoes. We’re talking to you. You, standing in your backyard, trying to decide whether to plant the tomatoes by the garage or over by the fence this year. Before you use that shovel in your hand, read this. Every six minutes, an underground utility line is damaged because someone decided to dig without calling 811. That means every six minutes, a person digging risks everything from gross inconvenience to fines to repair costs to injury...
May 16
“The Stevens County Sheriff is advising no travel due to dangerous road conditions. Visibility is near zero, roadways are slippery and covered with snow. If you are currently driving, go to a safe location and stay until the storm has passed. No travel is advised.” Everyone with a cell phone in Stevens County, MN received that emergency message on March 9, 2019. Stevens County had been hit by a similarly serious storm only days before. It left travelers stranded in the snow, the local public safety answering point (PSAP) overloaded with 911 calls, and first responders straining to reach all of them...
May 13
Now that the snow has melted and the sun is (mostly) out, driving is much more pleasant. The nicer weather conditions also bring out motorcyclists, and May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, so it may be time for a memory refresh about how to share the road safely with those on two wheels. Do you check your blind spot when you change lanes or merge with traffic? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that nearly 40 percent of the average vehicle is made up of blind spots. So given that motorcycles are already harder to see in traffic because of their smaller size...
May 9
When you’re in an emergency and you need help, sometimes it’s hard to even dial the phone, let alone find the right words to say to a 911 dispatcher. So imagine if English wasn’t your first language. In an emergency, you’d still need to make yourself understood so that you could get the right help in the right place. The State of Minnesota 911 Program pays for the state’s public safety answering points (PSAPs) to use a vendor called Language Line Services. Language Line provides 911 interpretation services over the phone...
May 6
As a parent, you would never knowingly put your child in danger. You teach them to look both ways before they cross the street. You encourage them to wear a bike helmet. You slather them with sunblock all summer long. And you make sure they’re buckled up whenever you go anywhere in the car. Unfortunately, car crashes continue to be a leading killer of children in the United States. And in Minnesota from 2013 to 2017, only half of the children ages 0-7 killed in crashes were known to be properly restrained. During the same time period, 17,436 properly restrained children were involved in...
May 2
Let’s face it: The best way to come back from a DWI is not to get one in the first place. But alcohol impairs judgment, so if you don’t plan ahead for a sober ride, make the poor choice to get behind the wheel, and get caught, here’s what you can expect. When you get pulled over, the law enforcement officer will most likely run you through a battery of field sobriety tests. If they determine you are impaired, you will be arrested for impaired driving. The officer will then transport you to a police station or hospital where they will either request a breath test or direct that you provide a blood or urine test...
