Where public service meets the public

Humor can make public safety a little more approachable. David Hielscher has seen it firsthand hundreds of times.

Hielscher, a system analysis supervisor for MNIT, has staffed the Department of Public Safety (DPS) booth at the Minnesota State Fair nearly every day it’s been open for the past four years. He is officially assigned to help with on-site technology, but he still talks to the public. He’s even developed a special joke for fairgoers using one of the booth’s most popular giveaways. 

(Editor’s note: We’ve redacted that joke so Hielscher can continue to surprise members of the public.)

“That’s one of my favorite interactions because I’ve done it literally hundreds of times,” Hielscher said.

But the conversations are more than a chance to share a laugh.

In his day job, one of Hielscher’s focuses is to find efficiencies or new technologies that improve the experience of Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) customers. At the booth, he gets something that is harder to find from his usual station behind a computer screen — direct conversations and feedback from the very people who use DVS. 

“I’m a bit more extroverted than many people in my field,” Hielscher said. “I got hired to work at the state because of my experience and my personality. That’s what makes me good at the State Fair too.”  

Hielscher is just one of dozens of employees who sign up to work shifts at the booth. Their interactions and conversations with fairgoers give them important insights and exposure they can take back to their day jobs.

“It’s so important not to forget the public in public service,” said Nicole Archbold, director of Community Affairs for DPS. Her team manages booth operations at the Fair and regularly meets with communities across the state. They then bring the insights back to DPS divisions. 

“It’s important that we understand how our work lands with everyday Minnesotans so that we can all be even more effective in the future,” Archbold said. “The Fair is a great opportunity for anyone in the agency to get that gut check on the impact of their work.”

DPS human resources is one group that has embraced the opportunity. Almost every day, a recruiter can be found at the booth, talking with visitors about the career paths available at DPS.

Recruiter Jonathan Stacke said most conversations begin with a realization about the massive scope of DPS divisions.

“When I talk to people, they only think we are the DMV — and I correct them to DVS — or State Patrol,” Stacke said. “It is funny to see the understanding of how deep we are and for them to know that we’re real people and not just faces on a billboard.” 

Stacke said working at the booth also gives employees a chance to reconnect to the agency’s mission to build a safer Minnesota.

“It does kind of reinvigorate you because you get to talk about the ‘why’ behind what we do,” Stacke said.

Like Hielscher, Stacke said humor is often the best way to break the ice on serious public safety conversations. When booth visitors ask if they can take a giveaway or a brochure, he will jokingly remind them that their tax dollars paid for it.

Those kinds of lighthearted interactions are what keep both staffers and fairgoers coming back to the DPS booth year after year. 

Despite a nearly five-hour drive from his home near the Canadian border, Hielscher is back at the booth this year. He made the drive, plans to crash on a friend’s couch for the duration of the Fair and is ready for more conversations and more opportunities to tell his joke.

“It’s corny, but I think people should learn more about public safety,” he said.