By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
Rice County officers had a busy Independence Day Holiday, making 78 total traffic stops and issuing 18 citations, including one for a man driving 91 mph in a 60-mph zone.
The Lonsdale man, who was stopped on Hwy. 19 just east of Lonsdale city limits, reportedly smelled of alcohol and had several empty beer cans on the front passenger’s seat and a half-empty bottle of rum on the floorboard. He was charged with refusing to submit to a breathalyzer, third-degree DWI driving without a license, violating the state’s open container law, and speeding.
The stop was part of the annual Border-to-Border speed saturation conducted by area law enforcement and coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety. During the event, which takes place on July 3, officers step up patrols on the most well-traveled roads in the region — Hwy. 14, 19 and 60 – to help remind motorists to obey all traffic laws and drive for the conditions.
Mike Hanson is with the Minnesota State Office of Traffic Safety:
“This is a festive time of year. And it’s a time of the year when any fatality crash or serious injury crash is always a tragic event. But when they occur around the holidays, it makes it even that much worse.” – Mike Hanson, MN Office of Traffic Safety, Audio Courtesy of the Minnesota News Network
Hanson says Minnesotans are in the 100 most deadliest days of summer when it comes to fatal crashes. Speeding is the leading cause of death on Minnesota roads, with the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day being the deadliest nationwide. In 2024, 151 people were killed on Minnesota’s roads during those 100 days, that’s nearly one third the total killed the entire year.
“This special B2B enforcement shows the commitment of participating agencies to move Toward Zero Deaths, and is another effort to change dangerous behaviors and get drivers to slow down and follow the posted speed limit,” said Kathy Cooper, Rice County Safe Roads Coalition Coordinator. “Nationwide, speeding contributes to 87% of fatal crashes on non-interstate roads, so slow down and save a life – it may be yours.”
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