Mahnomen Sheriff’s Office Disputes City Pages Article

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According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Mahnomen County has the highest DWI rate in the state.
 
The Mahnomen county Sheriff’s Office says drinking and driving is an issue but the county has bigger problems.

The Mahnomen County Sheriff says that the claims made in a recent City Pages article have some truth, but according to their statistics, the number of DWI’s in the county have actually dropped since 2010.
 
“We do have a problem just like anywhere in the state. Some people say it’s because of poverty and stuff, and we are one of the poorest counties in the state, but alcohol doesn’t recognize wealth,” says Sheriff Doug Krier.

According to most recent statistics from the sheriff’s office, DWI’s have dropped by 60 percent since 2010.

Sheriff Krier says drug use in the area is a bigger concern than alcohol, and that they usually go hand in hand.
 
“They steal, they will drink, and try to support their habits so it’s kind of a vicious cycle,”says Sheriff Krier.
 
A recent City Pages article noted the county’s DWI’s have been twice the state average.
 
“The Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Office says they were not contacted to set the record straight about the claims in the City Pages article.
 
“That article that was done I had no idea anything about it. No one contacted us about it so we were not allowed to give any input,” says Sheriff Krier.
 
People in the area also believe that drug abuse is something that law enforcement needs to make a priority.
 
“We don’t seem to be you know getting at the problem, and we just have a lot of drug use for some reason,” says Kaare Haddeland of Mahnomen.

The sheriff’s office says that they continue to work closely with Minnesota’s Toward Zero Deaths program to help keep drunk drivers off the road.

They are also active in the schools educating kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.