Oct. 15
Some people really geek out on data. Some people don’t. But we can all agree that the more information we have about something, the better. Take motor vehicle crash statistics. The Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) releases an annual report called Crash Facts, and as you can imagine, it’s full of statistics about where, when, and how crashes happen, as well as who they happen to. More importantly to anyone who drives, it summarizes the crashes, deaths and injuries that occurred on Minnesota roadways. Minnesota Motor Vehicle Crash Facts 2017 was recently released...
Oct. 11
You’ve probably noticed that REAL IDs are now available in Minnesota. And you may be aware that you can use your standard ID for federal purposes until Oct. 1, 2020 – so there’s no rush. But you may have other questions about REAL ID and the process of obtaining one. Not to worry – a lot of your fellow Minnesotans have had the same questions, so we’ve put together an FAQ to clear things up...
Oct. 8
In July, we told you about the first step to recovery for the 27 Minnesota counties and three tribal nations damaged by the severe storms and flooding between June 15 and July 11. Since then, officials at local, county, state and federal levels have been hard at work, assessing damages, cleaning up, and applying for a federal Major Disaster Declaration. The latter happened on Sept. 5, when Governor Dayton secured the Presidential Disaster Declaration, thus making it possible to apply for funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Public Assistance Program...
Oct. 4
Now that the weather is turning chillier, the daily routine is changing for Minnesotans. We’re turning on the heat and bringing in space heaters. We’re staying indoors more and cooking there, too. We’re even lighting candles to stave off the darkness. And because all of these things can start fires, we need to brush up on our fire prevention skills. Fortunately, Fire Prevention Week is coming up, and it’s the perfect time to refresh our memories. Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 7-13 this year, and its theme is “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.” ...
Oct. 1
At 1:18 Wednesday afternoon, you’ll be sitting in a meeting (or at lunch, or in class, or walking the dog, or any one of a number of typical Wednesday afternoon activities) when your cell phone will begin to sound loudly and vibrate. So will the person’s next to you. And so will the person’s next to them. In fact, every cell phone in the nation will be doing this within half an hour. How do we know this? No, we can’t predict the future (that would make our jobs in public safety much easier). We know this because that’s when Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has scheduled a bit of history...