At least 300 people were arrested in Minnesota for drunken driving on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

One highway death occurred north of Deer River late the afternoon of Dec. 31, but officials said they didn't know whether alcohol was involved in the crash.

There were no drunken-driving deaths during the two-day New Year's holiday in the previous four years.

The 300 drunken-driving arrests this holiday by the State Patrol, county sheriff's offices and municipal law enforcement agencies is on par with numbers from the previous five years, which averaged 295 DWIs.

Nearly 30,000 people are arrested for drunken driving each year in Minnesota. During the past five years, 651 people were killed in drunken-driving crashes.

A DWI arrest can mean the loss of a driver's license, thousands of dollars in costs and possible jail time.

MARY LYNN SMITH