Freeborn County is listed in the top 25 most dangerous counties for drunken driving across the state, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

Topping the list are Hennepin, Anoka and Ramsey counties, while Blue Earth and Freeborn counties are Nos. 21 and 22, respectively.

The 25 counties accounted for 61 percent of the state’s drunken driving-related deaths and 74 percent of the state’s alcohol-related serious injuries from 2012-14, according to a Department of Public Safety news release.

The top 25 counties are compiled by collecting three years of data from every county on drunken driving-related deaths and alcohol-related serious injuries.

Freeborn County Sheriff Kurt Freitag said though he does not think there has been a major uptick in drunken driving-related deaths or serious injuries from crashes in the county, he does think there has been an increase in drunken-driving arrests thanks to expanded enforcement.

The department will continue this enforcement.

While the number of drunken driving incidents remains a major concern, a downward trend indicates people are getting the message to plan for a sober ride, according to the release. The number of deaths in the top 25 counties dropped from 193 from 2011 to 2013 to 160 from 2012-2014.

Overall, DWIs dropped from 64,607 in 2011 to 2013 in the top 25 counties to 61,203 in 2012 to 2014.

The counties will receive federal funding for increased DWI enforcement through September 2016.

 

Top 25 most dangerous drunken driving counties in Minnesota

1. Hennepin

2. Anoka

3. Ramsey

4. Dakota

5. St. Louis

6. Stearns

7. Wright

8. Washington

9. Scott

10. Crow Wing

11. Otter Tail

12. Cass

13. Olmsted

14. Itasca

15. Kandiyohi

16. Winona

17. Becker

18. Sherburne

19. Rice

20. Beltrami

21. Blue Earth

22. Freeborn

23. Le Sueur

24. Aitkin

25. Meeker