The Minnesota Star Tribune reports that the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office will be putting extra DWI patrols on the road throughout the holidays until January 2, 2016.  The Minnesota Department of Public Safety also reports that extra police patrols will be done statewide. Christmas is the second-deadliest holiday for drunk-driving fatalities and with that in mind,… Read more »

Drug dealers are not the only ones who need to worry about undercover police as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports today the Minnesota State Patrol has placed five unmarked squad cars into service in the past week to watch for people texting while driving. Distracted driving has become a major problem on Minnesota roads as “last… Read more »

The Minnesota Star Tribune reports today that from August 21st through September 7th of this year, law enforcement officials arrested 1513 individuals for DWI in Minnesota.  Five deaths in alcohol-related crashes also occurred during this same period of time. The Star Tribune reports St. Paul police made the most arrests with 47, followed by Minneapolis… Read more »

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reports that during this year’s Labor Day weekend of September 4th through 7th, 462 people were arrested for drunk driving.  In 2014, the Department of Public Safety reports the Labor Day weekend total was only 395 arrests.  This year, over 300 law enforcement agencies participated in a stepped-up program of… Read more »

The Star Tribune reports today that the number of Minnesotans convicted of Felony Domestic Assault has risen dramatically in the past 10 years.  The number of convictions has gone from 299 in 2003 to almost 1500 in 2013.  And 315 of the defendants convicted in 2013 went to prison compared to only 44 individuals in 2003.  The average… Read more »

According to WCCO, twelve law enforcement agencies have received grants, financed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, designated for DWI enforcement.  The amounts range between $160,000 and $200,000. The agencies receiving the money under the DWI program are the: Anoka County Sheriff’s Department; Lino Lakes Police Department; Coon Rapids Police Department, Duluth Police Department,… Read more »

The Minnesota Legislature has passed a law, going into effect on August 1, 2015, that will lower the alcohol concentration level at which a first-time DWI driver may be charged with a gross misdemeanor DWI. Under the current law, if a Minnesota driver tests .08%-1.9% alcohol concentration level, the offense is a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty… Read more »

Col. Matt Langer of the Minnesota State Patrol stated in today’s Star Tribune that one in four crashes are caused by texting, eating, entering GPS data or any activity that takes the driver’s eyes off of the road.  “Driving 55 miles per hour translates to 90 feet per second, he said, so if you look… Read more »

On April 21, 2015, the United States Supreme Court in  United States v. Rodriguez, outlawed the use of a dog to sniff the outside of a vehicle stopped for a minor traffic offense but only because the citation for the traffic offense had already been completed.  A subsequent search of the vehicle by the police revealed… Read more »

On May 25, 2012, the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force searched the bedroom of Ryan M. Drown and seized several items including two water bongs. A field test of the water indicated the presence of methamphetamine in both bongs. Mr. Drown  was subsequently charged by an amended complaint with second-and third-degree possession of a controlled substance…. Read more »