BRAINERD — Law enforcement officers from across the state were recognized for their efforts to stop impaired drivers in 2024 at a Minnesota Twins game on Aug. 10, including four officers from the Brainerd lakes area.
Brainerd Police Department officers Nate Peters, with 54 driving while impaired arrests, and Bryce Johnson, with 43 DWI arrests, were recognized. Baxter Police Department officers Adam Casanova, with 52 DWI arrests, and Conner Collette, with 42 DWI arrests, were recognized.
Brainerd officers Nate Peters, left, and Bryce Johnson at Target Field on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025.
Contributed / Brainerd Police Department
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s
Office of Traffic Safety recognized 66 law enforcement officers
who were nominated by their agencies for their exceptional efforts to stop impaired driving in 2024. Blaze Credit Union sponsored the event.
“These DWI Enforcer All-Stars did more than just arrest impaired drivers, they went out on the road to save lives, stop crashes and keep families together,” said Mike Hanson, the director of the Office of Traffic Safety, in a news release. “When someone makes the choice to drive impaired, they are risking their lives and the life of everyone on the road. These officers went above and beyond.”
In 2024, the All-Stars made 5,120 combined driving while impaired arrests across Minnesota. Their efforts were nearly 20% of the total 26,583 arrests made last year.
“Those two lead the way in our area with DWI arrests,” said Tony Runde, Brainerd’s deputy police chief. “The community should be proud of their efforts to keep everybody safe on the roadways around here.”
There are a lot of officers doing good work here, said Runde, and it’s nice to have officers being recognized for the work they do in the community.
“Every year, Baxter Police officers work extremely hard enforcing DWI laws,” said Matt Maier, Baxter Police Chief, in an email. “Last year, Baxter Police Officers Adam Casanova and Officer Conner Collette led the charge in impaired driving enforcement. They worked extremely hard to remove impaired drivers from our roadways, whether the impairment is caused by alcohol, controlled substances or other drugs.
“Not only am I proud of officer Casanova and officer Collette for their efforts, but I am equally proud of our entire department. The work that our officers do every single day enforcing DWI laws directly contributes to saving lives and preventing injuries on our roads and is a critical component of ensuring the safety and well-being of every resident and visitor in our community.”
Runde said all of our officers go through standardized field sobriety testing, with both Peters and Johnson recently certified as drug recognition evaluators, bringing the department up to three DRE evaluators.
“It gives them the ability to detect impaired drivers that aren’t under the influence of alcohol,” Runde said. “It’s a very difficult thing to do, and it gives them the tools necessary to be able to get a good evaluation on them and determine that if someone is impaired on prescription drugs or controlled substances.”
Information from the Office of Traffic Safety
Intoxicated driving in Minnesota
According to preliminary figures, intoxicated drivers were responsible for 142 deaths in 2024.There were nearly 2,800 DWI crashes last year, according to data from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.From 2020 to 2024, there were 125,323 DWI arrests in Minnesota.Overall, there were 477 total traffic fatalities in Minnesota in 2024.
Impaired drivers face the loss of their license for up to a year, thousands of dollars in costs and possible jail time.Repeat DWI offenders, as well as first-time offenders arrested at 0.16 and above blood alcohol concentration, must use an ignition interlock device to regain legal driving privileges or face at least one year without a driver’s license.Offenders with three or more offenses are required to use an ignition interlock device for three to six years, or they will never regain driving privileges.
Designate a sober driver, use a safe, alternative transportation option, or stay at the location of the celebration.Speak up. Offer to be a designated driver or be available to pick up a loved one anytime, anywhere.If you plan to drive, refrain from drugs, whether legally or illegally obtained. Impaired is impaired.If you don’t yet know how a medication will affect your judgment, coordination and reaction time, either have someone else drive or wait to take it until after you get home.
Tim Speier joined the Brainerd Dispatch in October 2021, covering Public Safety. He can be reached via email at tim.speier@brainerddispatch.com or calling 218-855-5859.