Blog Archive: September 2017
Sept. 28
If you’ve ever loved someone, you can imagine (or perhaps you already know) the heartbreak of losing them. And losing them to a known factor – disease, for example, or an accident – would be terrible enough. But never knowing what happened to them would be even worse. That’s why the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has spent the last few years on an effort to help families find answers. They’ve started a campaign to bring forward the families of missing persons to give DNA samples...
Sept. 25
As you can imagine, Minnesota state troopers get the same questions about traffic laws over and over again. So if there’s something you’ve always wanted to know about the rules of the Minnesota road, chances are you’re not the first. We asked Lt. Tiffani Nielson to tell us answers to a few of the questions she hears most often. Not surprisingly, most of them were about recreational vehicles. We Minnesotans love our trips to the lake! Here are the top five most frequently asked questions about Minnesota traffic laws, along with their answers...
Sept. 21
If real life were anything like TV, first responders would do nothing but save people from hostage situations and defuse bombs all day. In reality, much of a first responder’s life consists of things like traffic stops, fire calls and paperwork. But that doesn’t mean nothing unusual ever happens, so they have to be ready for it. That’s where the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management’s (HSEM) State Emergency Response Teams come in. Each team consists of fire department and law enforcement personnel working together...
Sept. 18
You’ve left your “baby” – the one who fed you Cheerios from her high chair just yesterday, it seems – at college. You’ve thought of everything: Can she get to all her classes? Will she have time to eat? To study? Has she made some new friends? But there’s one more question to add to that list as your child settles in to her college career: Is she safe from campus fires? From January 2000 to May 2015 in the United States, there were 85 fatal fires in dormitories, fraternities, sororities and off-campus housing, resulting in 118 fatalities — an average of about seven per school year...
Sept. 14
Sometimes it’s a conundrum: You want to go out with your friends, but you don’t want to make one of them be a designated driver or spend all your money on cabs. But drinking and driving is definitely not an option (seriously, who does that?!). And considering that Minnesota law enforcement made 1,370 DWI arrests during the most recent extra enforcement campaign (Aug. 18-Sept. 3), it’s clear that people need a better way to get home when they’re out partying. So what to do? If you’re in the Twin Ports area, there’s a really easy and affordable alternative: JOYRIDE...
Sept. 11
First it was the VCR. Don Weinberger told his 4-year-old it was going out to be repaired. Then it was a car, then their motorhome. And finally, Weinberger lost his family’s home of 15 years because he couldn’t stop betting on sports. Believe it or not, though, Weinberger’s fate could have been worse. That’s because sports gambling is illegal in the state of Minnesota. Terry Kelley, a special agent at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division, reminds the public of that fact as football season starts up again...
Sept. 8
If you’ve ever been pulled over while driving, you know it can be stress-inducing, regardless of the reason for the interaction. After all, the last thing anyone wants is a ticket. Believe it or not, state troopers do a lot more than issue tickets. The tickets that are issued are done as a way to change behavior and the only purpose is to make our roads safer. None of the revenue from speeding citations even goes to the State Patrol. The mission of the organization is to provide for traffic safety through assistance, education, and enforcement...
