Blog Archive: October 2018
Oct. 29
It’s fun to be scared of imaginary things like monsters and vampires. It’s less fun to be scared of real-life threats like fires and car crashes. Fortunately, this Halloween, you can have the tricks below at your fingertips to help keep the frights fun and the treats sweet. When you’re decorating your front porch to welcome trick-or-treaters, make sure you avoid the risk of fire. Keep flammable materials at least 3 feet away from heat sources. That means using flameless candles or glow sticks in jack-o-lanterns. Be especially careful with typical autumn décor like straw, dried leaves and corn stalks...
Oct. 25
Standing outside in a construction zone staring at pipelines in a dirt trench in the chilly fall air is hardly glamorous, but it is important. Especially when people are depending on those pipelines to survive. That’s why five Minnesota pipeline safety inspectors are going to Massachusetts over the next three weeks to help oversee the installation of new natural gas pipeline. Three communities in Merrimack Valley experienced a series of natural gas explosions in September that killed one person, injured others...
Oct. 22
A chilly fall morning, bare feet on tile, and maybe you haven’t turned the furnace on yet. But puttering around in your cold kitchen is turning you into a human Popsicle, so why not open the oven door and turn it on? It is, after all, a heat source – and what could it hurt? Or maybe you have a space heater and you’ve just come in from the rain. Your clothes are soaked and you’re desperate to get them warm and dry. Seems like it would be effective to drape them over the space heater for a few minutes, right?
Oct. 18
When you think of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), you may think of it as a state version of the FBI. In fact, the two work together quite a bit, and they started a new project together this summer. The BCA and all law enforcement agencies in Minnesota began contributing to the FBI’s National Use-of-Force Data Collection. The use of force by law enforcement has been in the news a lot over the past few years, but there was a lack of statistical data in the conversation – that’s why the FBI created the collection. The idea is that law-enforcement agencies can report any use of force by their officers...
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...
