Nearly one out of every four deaths on Minnesota roads is related to drunk driving, and this year’s Extra DWI Enforcement Campaign, which ran from August 14th to September 7th, shows an increase in numbers on the amount of arrests made due to impaired drivers.

During the DWI campaign, officers, deputies, and troopers arrested 1,649 drivers for driving impaired, compared with 1,479 DWI arrests during the same period in 2019. This included an arrests by the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office where a woman who allegedly was headily impaired on prescription medications. The woman was driving from Drayton, ND to Bagley and was attempting to go make it to Bemidji.

Collectively, there were over 50 DWI arrests made between the Bemidji Police Department and the Minnesota State Patrol in Brainerd. 312 law enforcement agencies across Minnesota participated in the Extra DWI Enforcement Campaign, which was conducted by the Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety.

By — Destiny Wiggins