Blog Archive: December 2023

​ ​Personalize your vehicle with special license plates offered by Driver and Vehicle Services

Dec. 28

Car enthusiasts ​have been asking our Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) division for more options to express their individuality through special license plates. This year we answered with a record number of special plates, some of which you can begin to purchase after Jan. 1.

​ ​Driving sober is the perfect holiday gift​​​​

Dec. 21

This holiday season, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) has been asking those who enforce our driving while impaired (DWI) laws a question: What's your why? Why is it important for you to keep impaired drivers off Minnesota's roads? For Michelle Ness, a former deputy and current Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) coordinator for the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office, the “why" is actually a “who." When Ness was young, her friend Heather was killed by a drunk driver.“I watched the aftermath of her death ripple through our coworkers and her family,” Ness said...

​​​​​​Crash detection technology giving ECN employee peace of mind at home

Dec. 18

When Sandi Stroud's father passed away earlier this year, it was hard on Stroud, but not as hard as knowing her 83-year-old mother was left living alone in another state. Stroud, a 911 program manager in our Emergency Communication Networks (ECN) division, used her expertise...

​​DPS is rebuilding its website to better serve all Minnesotans

Dec. 14

Think back to 12 years ago. Social media was just becoming a part of our daily lives. There were more ads on TV for computers than phones. We were all more likely to use a phone to call for information than check a website. A lot has changed in the dozen years...

​ ​​​​​​​Keep warm this winter and take steps to make sure your family stays safe

Dec. 11

Alternative heating sources can be a necessity here in Minnesota. But they can also be dangerous or even deadly. Carbon monoxide poisonings and fire deaths spike in the winter as we switch on our furnaces and turn to alternative heat sources to keep us warm...

​ New technology offers life-saving text messages

Dec. 7

As a former dispatcher, Jessica Stanton knows seconds co​​​unt in an emergency. That's why she was grateful earlier this year for RapidDeploy Radius technology, a new high-tech mapping program that helps public safety telecommunicators locate those who need help with pinpoint accuracy so first responders can find them quickly...

​​​​​​​​​​Fire data tool helping Bemidji stop smoke before it turns into a fire

Dec. 4

As fire departments across Minnesota try to do more for their communities with fewer and limited resources, data provided by UrbanLogiq's Fire Risk Assessment Tool has proven invaluable. The Bemidji Fire Department knows firsthand how the data can be put into practice...

​​​​​​​Tall Cop: 'You can’t stop what you don’t know'

Nov. 27

They say the only constant in life is change. That principle holds true even when talking about traffic safety and driving while impaired. That's why the Minnesota departments of health, public safety and transportation brought in Jermaine Galloway, a 6-foot-9-inch former police officer also known as Tall Cop, to address our traffic safety partners...

​​Extra DWI enforcement aims to stop drunk drivers before the worst happens

Nov. 21

Sgt. Kyle Puelston was patrolling for impaired drivers Dec. 4, 2020, when one found him, striking his squad vehicle on the side of the road. Puelston suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash and spent months in recovery. The Chisago County Sheriff's deputy was forced to rest...​​

​​​​​​ More: Novemb​​er​ Blog ​Archive​​​