Star Tribune
Statewide crackdowns on drunken driving, speeding yield some eye popping numbers
Recent statewide crackdowns on drunken driving and speeding yielded not only large numbers of offenders but some eye-popping numbers for the highest speeds and blood alcohol levels.
From mid-August through the Labor Day weekend, officers, deputies and troopers from more than 250 agencies across Minnesota made 1,235 arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the state Department of Public Safety (DPS). That total is a slight drop from 1,265 last year and below a 2020 high of 1,649.
The same agencies wrote 68,723 speeding citations for a four-month stretch until Labor Day, reported the DPS, whose extra enforcements are now expanded beyond the month of July, as has been the case in recent years.
DPS officials noted that speeding and impaired driving are among the leading causes of deaths on the state’s roads, and traffic deaths this year are running 11% higher than at this time last year (322 vs. 286).
Through Sept. 15, speed was a factor in 94 traffic deaths this year, according to the DPS. That’s up from 18 at this time in 2023. Alcohol-related deaths on the road in Minnesota are virtually unchanged so far in 2024 v. the same point last year (80 vs. 82).
The DPS pointed out some rather remarkable enforcement examples regarding driving impaired or speeding:
Police in Eagan were called on Labor Day afternoon to the 3900 block of Worchester Drive and saw a 60-year-old woman in the road sitting in a lawn chair. Residents there provided her with the chair after she hit several parked vehicles and passed out. Police gave her a preliminary breath test that measured her blood alcohol content at 0.443%, more than 5½ times the legal limit in Minnesota.
Elsewhere in the state, one other driver on Steele County topped 0.40%, while the next four down the list ranged from 0.36% to 0.373%.
The YMCA of the North has laid off 69 employees as the nonprofit continues to struggle financially due to inflation, rising expenses and changing consumer behaviors.
Leaders at the Y, formerly the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities, confirmed Friday that 59 full-time employees and about 10 part-timers were laid off the first week of September, making up about 1.8% of its workforce.
“This included every aspect of the Y,” said Michelle Edgerton, the Y’s executive vice president of advancement. “It’s a sad moment at the Y, because … our team members are impacted. At the same time, we are looking at what is necessary for us to remain present in our community as long as our community needs us.”
The Y is one of the largest nonprofits in Minnesota and the third-largest YMCA in the U.S. The organization has reported deficits every year since 2020, when it shuttered its gyms due to the COVID-19 outbreak and lost thousands of memberships.
In 2020, the organization had 82,000 members; that number had fallen to 54,000 members in 2024, although numbers are increasing now, Edgerton said. Before the latest layoffs, the organization had 3,900 employees, down from 6,700 workers in 2020.
The Y, which had a budget of about $160 million this year and last year, ran a deficit of $10 million in 2023 and anticipates having a $6 million deficit this year, Edgerton said.
According to its tax filings, the organization had a $10 million deficit in 2022, up from a $7.6 million shortfall in 2021 and a $2.5 million deficit in 2020. Edgerton said the Y is on track to break even in 2025.
The YMCA isn’t the only nonprofit confronting difficult finances. A new survey released Thursday showed that nearly 80% of Minnesota nonprofits have less than 12 months before they face financial distress, the highest number of organizations struggling financially since the summer of 2020.
Minnesotans affected by this year’s flooding will have additional time to apply for federal aid.
The deadline has been moved back to Oct. 27 to apply for individual assistance grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a statement from the agency said Friday afternoon. The grants are meant to help Minnesotans financially recovering from the flooding that swamped parts of northeast and southern Minnesota in June and July.
Minnesotan flood survivors can also apply for low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Disaster loans up to $500,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, a recent statement from the agency said. Homeowners and renters can also apply for a loan of up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.
The deadline for SBA loans for physical property damage is Sept. 30, and Minnesotans are encouraged to apply for FEMA grants and the SBA low-interest disaster loan assistance at the same time.
“Our purpose is to provide exceptional airport experiences so Minnesota thrives, and this prestigious recognition demonstrates that we are delivering for our travelers,” Brian Ryks, CEO and executive director of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which owns and operates MSP, said in a statement. “This award also acknowledges the work and focus of all airport employees and our partners who ensure our airport facilities, services and hospitality are maintained at the highest levels and exceed travelers’ expectations.”
As a frequent flier who relies on MSP to do my 9-to-5 job and all the travel it demands, I’m pleased.
I’m a Wisconsin native who lacks the emotional ties to the highs and lows within the Minnesota sports scene. I don’t have stories about going to the Minnesota State Fair as a kid. And I’m also a transplant who always feels like a hypocrite whenever I talk about Prince (I was into “Thriller” more than “Purple Rain” in the 1980s).
But the airport? My pride in that facility is probably my most Minnesotan quality.
I’ve visited more than 75 American airports as a fulltime sportswriter for a national outlet. And when you spend that much time on the road, you learn to appreciate — and resent — some of the characteristics at each stop.
