Be Safe, Not Sorry, This Independence Day

Every year adults and children end up in the emergency room to be treated for fireworks injuries. Your best bet is to leave it to the pros and enjoy a public fireworks display this Fourth of July.

If you do purchase your own fireworks:

• Remember that if it flies or explodes, it’s illegal in Minnesota. You could face fines and confiscation of illegal fireworks.
• Use them in an open area, away from houses and other structures.
• Don’t let children run through the area.
• Choose a surface that’s solid and non-combustible.
• Use a long lighter meant for a gas grill to light fireworks, and stay as far from the wick as possible.
• Have a bucket of water for all the debris; spent sparklers must go into the bucket — not be dropped in the grass.
  
  

​Top 10 Tech Tips for Getting Through Disasters

We say our phones are our lifelines, but in a disaster or other emergency, they truly could be.

How will you contact friends, family or first responders if the phone lines are jammed or your cell phone is dead?

Read the latest DPS blog to find out how to get an emergency tech plan in place so that you can use your mobile devices to your advantage when disaster strikes. Learn our 10 simple tech tips here.

Become an Organ Donor by Checking the Box on Your Driver’s License Application

Want to save a life?

Become an organ donor when you apply for or renew your Minnesota driver’s license. All you have to do is check the box on the application, and “donor” will be added to your driver’s license or ID card.

At the end of last year, more than 2.4 million Minnesota driver’s license and ID holders were registered as donors.