In this issue:
- ECN: Leah Palmer chosen as ECN director
- OJP: Executive Director Kate Weeks leaving DPS
- OJP: Interim Director Kim Babine leads OJP
- SFM: Be careful with alternative heat sources
- MSP: When distracted driving turns deadly
- Commissioner's Corner: Schedule your road test for January and avoid the rush!
- Featured social media
Leah Palmer will become the new director of our Emergency Communication Networks (ECN) division on Jan. 8.
She started her career as a public safety telecommunicator with the City of Minneapolis and has more than 15 years of experience in public service, almost all focused on public safety.
Director Palmer most recently served as the manager of the Transit Rider Investment Program (TRIP) at Metro Transit. In that role, she led the effort to create a team of agents dedicated to working with law enforcement and other transit officials to improve the rider experience. TRIP agents ensure fare compliance, connect people with needed resources and help to enforce Metro Transit’s Code of Conduct.
As ECN director, Palmer will manage and support the state’s 911 program and other emergency communications networks across the state, working to ensure prompt and efficient delivery of public safety services to Minnesotans.
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Kate Weeks, executive director of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), has accepted a new role at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) as Assistant Commissioner of Economic Opportunity and Youth Services.
In her new position, Director Weeks will provide strategic insight and guidance on supplying resources to youth and their families around food security and wellbeing as she continues the work she started at OJP by supporting the work of the Youth Justice Office and Office of Restorative Practices, which are moving to DCYF in 2025.
Director Weeks joined DPS in 2014 and became OJP’s executive director in 2018. In this role, she’s been responsible for the development and execution of all OJP programs.
Under Weeks’ leadership, OJP has grown from 38 to more than 65 employees. She oversaw the establishment of three new offices: the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office, the Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Office and the Office of Restorative Practices. She also worked to build a more robust Youth Justice Office, which supports the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee and youth justice-related investments.
Director Weeks’ last day is today, Jan. 7.
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Kim Babine will serve as interim director of OJP. She joined DPS in 2023 as deputy director of programs. With more than 10 years at the state of Minnesota, her background is in policy, the state legislature, program operations and management.
In her role as deputy director of programs, Deputy Director Babine provides policy, programming and funding direction for OJP’s grant programs. She is responsible for ensuring grant funds are safeguarded and OJP grantees comply with state and federal laws and regulations. During her tenure, she helped establish a new grantmaking unit. Deputy Director Babine also provides leadership to Minnesota’s Youth Justice Office and the statewide gang and drug coordinator.
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 Don't let that blanket drape too close to a space heater
With the bitter cold, many Minnesotans will crawl under blankets and quilts to stay warm. If the furnace isn’t enough, we may curl up under those blankets near a nice, hot space heater or fireplace. Who doesn’t love listening to the crack of a roaring fire?
However:
- If that fireplace isn’t covered by a screen, those sparks could turn your entire home into one big fireplace
- If that blanket of yours lays too close to that hot space heater, it might become fuel for a fire
Heating equipment is a leading cause of fires in the U.S., particularly during winter months. Did you know that most home fires in Minnesota occur in fireplaces and chimneys?
Here are tips to help prevent heating-related fires in your home:
- Keep anything that can catch fire, such as furniture and blankets, at least three feet from portable heaters, fireplaces and furnaces.
- Do not use space heaters to dry wet items, such as mittens or towels.
- Turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to sleep.
- Always plug space heaters directly into an outlet; never plug it into an extension cord or outlet strip.
- Never use your oven to heat your home.
- Have your home heating system and chimney cleaned and inspected annually.
- Make sure your wood stove is properly installed and ventilated.
Visit our blog for more information about fire safety in your home.
 Megan Severson
Think you have time to take a longer look at your GPS when you’re travelling at freeway speeds? Don’t.
On Oct. 17, 2019, Megan Severson was driving from Preston in southeastern Minnesota to visit her boyfriend in North Dakota. But when she reached Highway 52 in St. Paul, everything changed in an instant.
She was traveling 70 mph in a 55 mph zone. She glanced at her GPS to see which exit she needed to take and didn’t realize the cars in front of her were stopped. Severson rear-ended the car in front of her, causing a chain-reaction crash involving multiple vehicles.
The results:
- A passenger in the car she struck was killed
- Severson was charged with criminal vehicular homicide because she was speeding and distracted at the time of the crash
- She pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to around three months in jail and five years of probation
- The judge also granted a request from the family of the person who was killed: Severson reports to jail on Oct. 17 each year – the anniversary of the deadly crash
Visit our blog to read Severson’s full story.
 Schedule your road test in January
Ah, that satisfied feeling of getting your driver’s license. Want to get that road test done sooner rather than later? Then consider scheduling your driver’s test in January!
Our Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) division posts road test appointments up to 30 days in advance. Most months, these slots fill up quickly. However, there’s generally more availability for road tests in January, which means it could be easier for you to find an open appointment. In fact, sometimes you can get a road test on the same day.
- More than 20 percent of road test appointments are no-shows or are canceled. When other test-takers cancel properly in advance, the appointment is put back into the system for others to schedule — including you!
- There’s also an online subscription waitlist feature that notifies you of available appointments at several different exam stations. This is a great tool so you don’t have to continuously search our website looking for appointments.
- Some extra preparation can help you pass no matter what the winter road conditions! Watch our video “DVS Road Test – What to Expect” and arrive with confidence.
Visit the DVS Online Services webpage and select “Manage your appointment availability subscriptions" to get started. This is also the same page where you can schedule an appointment.
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