Fasten your seat belts: Police are watching

Last update: October 11, 2008 - 10:51 PM

Better buckle up if you're driving in Minnesota.

Police are stepping up enforcement of seat-belt use over a 10-day period. The crackdown began Friday and continues through Sunday, Oct. 19.

From 2005 through 2007, more than half of the 1,200 vehicle occupants killed in Minnesota were not wearing seat belts -- and nearly 1,300 unbelted motorists were seriously injured in crashes.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is coordinating the effort. It includes about 400 law enforcement agencies.

Seat belt citations are $25 but can cost up to $115 with administrative fees.

The enforcement effort will emphasize special nighttime seat belt patrols.

CARVER COUNTY

Kline and Sarvi will hold first debate

Republican Representative John Kline and Democratic challenger Steve Sarvi will debate for the first time on Monday in Minnesota's 2nd District.

Both are military veterans.

Kline is a retired Marine colonel. Sarvi served with the National Guard in Iraq.

Kline is seeking a fourth term representing the Second District, which reaches from the southern Twin Cities suburbs south to the cities of Faribault, Zumbrota and Red Wing.

Sarvi is a former Watertown mayor with endorsements from both the DFL and Independence parties.

The debate at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is sponsored by the Carver County Chambers of Commerce

WILLMAR

Bail set at $500,000 in student's stabbing

Bail has been set at $500,000 for an 18-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing a Ridgewater College student and football player.

Miles David Edinburgh was recently certified as an adult and faces one felony charge of second-degree murder. He was 17 at the time of the stabbing of the 21-year-old Adam Kenneth Milton.

According to records, Edinburgh was in a group that went to an apartment complex in Willmar early July 20. There Edinburgh allegedly had an altercation with Milton, during which racial slurs were exchanged. The accused and the victim are both black.

At the hearing Friday, Edinburgh was appointed a public defender. He unsuccessfully argued for house arrest so he could care for his son. He was still in jail Saturday morning.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Recent Local + Metro stories

AirTran giving double rewards for Milwaukee travel - October 11, 2008

AirTran giving double rewards for Milwaukee travel - Discount carrier AirTran Airways, a unit of AirTran Holdings Inc., said Friday that it will offer double reward credits to all of its frequent flier club members when they travel between Milwaukee and any AirTran destination through Feb. 10. More