Harder DWI rules in MN, which was triggered by Park Tavern Crash Passes Senate

St. Paul, Minn. (Fox 9) – – The fatal crash in the Tavern Park in St. Louis Park was in the head on the day of the driver's guilty plea in Capitol.

A legal solution

Locks for longer:

Legislators try to find a better way to protect people from drunk drivers.

Their focus is on ignition locking devices, and a vote on Wednesday means that repeated drunk drivers have longer access to them and have to use longer, which the Park Tavern driver could have stopped.

Kristina Folkerts and Gabe Harvey died when Steven Bailey fell on his terrace, while his blood alcohol content was more than four times the legal limit for drivers.

Despite his five earlier DWIs in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin, the law, which suited him, allowed him to drive without restrictions.

“The remedy we have come up with is now in the bill that will be presented here today,” said Senator Ron Litz (DFL-St. Louis Park).

Sen. Latz and MP Larry Kraft (DFL-St. Louis Park) have written a new law that forced repeated drunk drivers to use ignition locking devices for much longer if they want to drive again.

The longest is currently six years for drunk drivers with four or more priors.

The invoice would extend this to ten years after three earlier crimes.

It looks at 20 years of driving instead of ten and increases the punishment for driving without a device.

“As soon as they are there, they will be longer in time,” said Sen. Latz. “So, people like the guy who had been killed in St. Louis Park would have been on the lock if this law had been present at that time.”

No silver ball

Improvement not elimination:

Legislators do not expect the law to stop all drunk driving, but the CDC says that ignition locks reduce the repeated DWI crimes by about 70%.

The senators unanimously passed the bill on Wednesday and the house passed their version last week.

The new law will not bring Folkerts and Harvey back, but the owner of Park Tavern told us when the bill was introduced that it was a step in the right direction.

“If something can be done to prevent it, it is up to everyone, really the best to try to make sure it doesn't happen,” said a still mourning Phil Weber.

31 other states require ignition locking devices after a first criminal offense. According to this law, too, Minnesota will also have one of the harder punishments for DWI.

What's next:

The legislative templates adopted in the house and the Senate are a little different, so that they go through a conference committee and receive new floor voices in both places. The new invoice is expected to be easily adopted and the governor signed.

The law would come into force on August 1, 2025.

Incidents for crime and public security policy. Louis Park