MN State Patrol List Shows Highest DWI Blood-Alcohol Levels

TWIN CITIES, MN — Minnesotans did a lot of drinking and driving this summer, which resulted in a 10 percent increase in DWI arrests.

During the recent extra DWI patrol campaign, which takes place from Aug. 19 through Sept. 5, officers, deputies and troopers arrested 1,265 drivers for driving impaired, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

That number is up from 1,145 DWI arrests during the same extra DWI patrol campaign in 2021.

Highest blood-alcohol content

The legal limit to drive in Minnesota is a blood-alcohol level of .08. Across the state, these five agencies recorded the highest blood-alcohol levels during a DWI arrest.

• Mankato Department of Public Safety Police (0.36)
• Winona Police Department (0.357)
• Ramsey Police Department (0.35)
• Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office (0.34)
• Plymouth Police Department (0.33)

Find the list of participating agencies and their highest blood-alcohol arrest below:

These agencies in the Twin Cities metro area saw the most DWI arrests during the campaign:

• Minnesota State Patrol — District 2500 (Golden Valley): 89
• Minnesota State Patrol — District 2400 (Oakdale): 47
• Saint Paul Police Department: 42
• Richfield Police Department: 19
• Inver Grove Heights Police Department: 16

Outside of the metro, the agencies with the most DWI arrests during the campaign were:

• Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office: 35
• Minnesota State Patrol — District 2100 (Rochester): 27
• Red Lake Tribal Police: 24
• St. Cloud Police Department: 23
• Wright County Sheriff’s Office: 22

So far in 2022, there have been 18,251 DWI arrests in Minnesota, compared with 17,176 at this time last year.

More than one of every five deaths — 23 percent — on Minnesota roads is drunk driving-related, according to state statistics. Between 2017 and 2021, alcohol-related crashes caused an average of 344 "life-changing" injuries on Minnesota roads, the State Patrol said.