GRAND RAPIDS — Minnesota’s Toward Zero Deaths campaign presented awards to traffic safety advocates and law enforcement offices for their work to reduce deaths on state roadways.
The Itasca County Sheriff’s Office was among those recognized on Saturday, Oct. 25, for its role with the Itasca County Highway 169 Task Force.
The group formed in response to 10 fatal crashes on the highway since June 2019.
One major outcome of the task force, which included officials from the Minnesota State Patrol and the Minnesota Department of Transportation, was a road zone campaign that included 5,000 traffic stops. MnDOT also conducted a road safety audit with recommendations on how to improve safety on the corridor.
"The result? A dramatic reduction in deaths on Highway 169 between Grand Rapids and Keewatin," announced the Minnesota State Patrol in a Facebook announcement.
The Toward Zero Deaths program is an interdisciplinary partnership formed in 2003, led by the state departments of Health, Transportation and Public Safety in an attempt to reduce roadway fatalities. Since its inception, fatalities have dropped by 27%.
-
Contributed/Madison McVan / Minnesota ReformerThe 440,000 Minnesotans who typically rely on SNAP for food are likely to seek help from food shelves instead. Most SNAP recipients are children, seniors and people with disabilities. -
Contributed/East Grand Forks Senior High SchoolEast Grand Forks' Ruby Leach and Thief River Falls' Piper Greene and Braylee Wienen are 2025 consolation champions. -
Contributed/Adobe Stock via Minnesota News ConnectionHundreds of thousands of Minnesotans are about to lose their food and heating assistance, and it’s unclear how much the state can help backfill services. -
Seventy more stops, expanded hours and more vehicles in the fleet makes the free AV service available to more communities, including those on Leech Lake Reservation. -
Plus: Gov. Tim Walz has now signed four cannabis compacts with tribal nations, the latest being the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; and the girls' state tennis tournament wrapped up with a few Northland consolation champions.
-
Contributed/Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior ChippewaThe Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is the fourth tribal nation to sign the intergovernmental contract that allows tribal cannabis businesses to operate off tribally regulated land. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEMnDOT's plans for Highway 197, or Paul Bunyan Drive, in Bemidji include replacing three signalized intersections with roundabouts between 2026 and 2027. -
Contributed/Crosby-Ironton Rangers Facebook pageFifteen individual athletes from Northern Minnesota competed in the girls tennis singles and doubles state tournament Thursday and Friday in the Twin Cities. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEPresident Donald Trump approved disaster relief for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in response to the June 21, 2025, severe storms. -
Contributed/Minnesota DNRThe Lake Winnibigoshish Land Exchange Act, introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber, grants a land swap between the Chippewa National Forest and Bowen Lodge near Deer River.
