Star Tribune
Minnesota authorities concerned about drivers ignoring stopped school buses
Just days before Christmas, a pickup truck driver passed a motorist that had stopped for a school bus unloading children on the right, then blew past the bus that had its red lights flashing and stop arm extended, narrowly missing two grade-school-age children crossing the street.
Video of the Dec. 21 incident near Willow River, Minn., went viral, and led to charges against the pickup truck driver.
It was hardly an isolated case.
From 2018 through 2022, court records show more than 2,000 motorists have been cited for disobeying state law requiring drivers to stop at least 20 feet away from the bus and remain motionless until the stop-signal arm has been retracted and the red lights are no longer flashing.
Police in Wayzata have seen their share of violations, too. Since the school year began, officers have tagged 30 drivers for ignoring school bus stop arms, including five motorists charged with a gross misdemeanor in recent months because children were outside the bus at the time.
No one has been hit or hurt — yet — but “it’s alarming and frustrating because you are one moment away from disaster,” said officer Brandon Haapoja.
Haapoja has handed out many of the tickets in Wayzata after the department received complaints about stop arm violations and stepped up patrols. Haapoja had been the department’s school resource officer but was pulled from school buildings after the Legislature passed a law last year that brought into question how resource officers could react to unruly students.
Unable to be inside school buildings, Police Chief Marc Schultz said he was looking for a way to keep students safe, and focusing on stop arm violations was one way to do that. Haapoja set up watch at several bus stops — particularly along four-lane Central Avenue — where many of the violations have occurred.
“It was more than I care to see,” he said.
Police have also used camera footage from buses that have recorded drivers’ bad behavior. While that is not enough to issue a ticket — officers have to prove who was driving — it has allowed police to track down the vehicle’s registered owner and have a conversation, Schultz said.
“We want to educate,” he added.
As for why drivers are not stopping, confusion seems to be a common theme, Haapoja said. Many don’t realize that they have to stop for a school bus that is loading or unloading on one side of a wide road like Central Avenue while they are on the other side. But ignorance is no excuse.
“When you apply for a driver’s license, you must certify, by signing the application, that you understand that you must stop for a school bus and are aware of the penalties for violating this law,” the Minnesota Drivers Manual says.
So let’s review the rules. Drivers in both directions must stop when meeting a stopped school bus with lights flashing on any undivided roadway, regardless of how many lanes there are. Drivers are not required to stop if traveling on the opposite side of a road divided with a barrier such as a concrete median, the driver’s manual says.
Haapoja is imploring drivers to stop for school buses and avoid a fine that could reach $500. But more importantly, drivers should stop “for the safety of the children.”
Transforming the heart of both downtowns, which have much larger buildings than old warehouses, is going to take a lot more money, creativity and time. Josh Talberg, managing director at downtown Minneapolis brokerage JLL, said with no major apartment buildings on the drawing board in either downtown, the fleet of empty office buildings present a golden opportunity to create more housing and lead both cities in a new direction.
“You can can certainly see the fundamentals improving, and you can feel that vibrancy, and that’s ultimately the foundation that’s needed to get investors to reinvest in the city,” he said. “But it’s not as if these 18-wheelers can turn on a dime.”
The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed part of a state highway Wednesday evening near Austin because of a “major hazardous materials release” in the area.
Hwy. 56 from Hayfield to Waltham, a stretch covering about five miles, was closed in both directions and drivers were directed to follow a detour to Blooming Prairie on U.S. Hwy. 218.
No information on the hazardous materials released was immediately available.
A federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II during a 2023 traffic stop.
The decision is the latest development in a case that has drawn heated debate over excessive use of force by law enforcement. Criminal charges against Londregan were dismissed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in June, saying the prosecution didn’t have the evidence to proceed with a case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel granted Londregan’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, arguing he acted reasonably when he opened fire as Cobb’s vehicle lurched forward with another state trooper partly inside.
Londregan’s attorney Chris Madelsaid Wednesday that it’s been a “long, grueling journey to justice. Ryan Londregan has finally arrived.”
On July 31, 2023, the two troopers pulled over Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights and later learned he was wanted for violating a felony domestic no-contact order. Cobb refused commands to exit the car.
With Seide partly inside the car while trying to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt, the car moved forward. Londregan then opened fire, hitting Cobb twice.
In her decision, Brasel said the troopers were mandated by state law to make an arrest given Cobb’s domestic no-contact order violation. She said it was objectively reasonable for Londregan to believe Seide was in immediate danger as the car moved forward on a busy highway, which would make his use of force reasonable.
