ST. PAUL — If you plan to visit the Minnesota Capitol during this year’s legislative session, you should know that there are new security measures in place. Here’s what to expect when visiting.
To enter the building, visitors and employees need to pass through a body scanner and put large items through a conveyor belt scanner. It’s all designed to ensure that no prohibited items — think unpermitted guns, knives, clubs and liquor — make it into the Capitol.
Gov. Tim Walz ordered the security measures after the shooting last June of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman, and the killings of Rep. Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark Hortman and their dog, Gilbert.
Minnesota State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic said the screenings are not a weapons ban, but an extra layer of protection for the Capitol and people in it.
“This is about protection, not restriction,” Bogojevic said in a press conference Feb. 13.
People who have a permit to carry a weapon are still allowed to enter the Capitol. They need to alert officers if they are carrying a weapon before being screened and be ready to show the officers their permit and ID after passing through the scanner.
Screening may take longer for those with a permit to carry due to the additional questioning, but officials said it will not slow down things for the people behind them.
Anybody who refuses screening will not be allowed into the Capitol, according to the Department of Public Safety website.
There will be a heightened police presence inside the Capitol in addition to the security screening checkpoints.
There are four public entrances for visitors and staff, where they will be met with the security screening. Elected officials are exempt from the screening and will go through a separate line. Public entrances are at the south end of the building and the tunnels to the Senate building, State Office Building and Judicial Center.
Bogojevic said screenings will only take seconds per person, and that was proven to be true on Feb. 18, when protesters and school field trips arrived at the Capitol early in the afternoon and the security line was out the door.
Visitors came through security after waiting in the snow for 10 minutes and said it went smoothly, even if they needed to stop and take something out of their pockets.
The Capitol will close every day at 4:30 p.m. but accommodations will be made if hearings or floor sessions go later. The building is open Saturdays but closed Sundays. After hours visitors will need to enter through the south entrance and use the call button.
Other prohibited items include balloons, spray paint, chalk, candles and tape. A full list is available on the Department of Public Safety website.
Report for Minnesota is a project of the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to support local news across the state.
