With many folks on the water this Fourth of July holiday, the Polk County Sheriff’s Department and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will monitor the area’s lakes to ensure everybody has a safe and happy holiday.
BOAT AND WATER SAFETY PROGRAM
The Polk County Sheriff’s Department Water and Safety crew is participating in the boat and water safety program. This program is primarily funded by a grant from the state of Minnesota to provide public safety. Each department participating in this program collects and interprets data on water incidents and boating in general. This grant also provides training for adults who may require training before operating boats in other states.
“Our personnel will be out there on boats and our personal watercraft patrolling the water waves of Polk County,” said Polk County Boat and Water Supervisor Tom Hibma. “We’ll be looking for intoxicated boaters, careless, reckless drivers, speed, and wick violations, and also the violations of watercraft too.”
WHERE YOU MIGHT SEE WATER PATROLS
The weekends typically bring the highest traffic possibilities to the waters. Polk County prides itself on always having a patrol officer on duty to respond to calls and complaints. “We go all the way from the Red River, we’ve done patrol on the Red Lake River, but primarily we are on the lakes area,” said Hibma. “We’re in Polk County on Maple Lake, Union Lake, and once in a while, we’ll hit smaller lakes around the area.”
BOAT INSPECTIONS
The DNR has an Aquatic Invasive Species Specialist at the public landings who will inspect boats. The purpose of the inspections is to make sure individuals are taking the proper precautions in and out of the water. A washing station is available for boaters; use that to ensure your boat is free of any invasive species, such as weeds and zebra mussels.
MESSAGE FROM THE POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
With the Fourth of July weekend being a highly capacitated holiday on the lakes, Crookston Police wanted to send a message to those who plan on being on the water. “Don’t drink and drive because it’s no different than the road when you’re on a boat,” said Hibma. “Some of the rules are a little different in terms of open containers. However, we don’t promote that, 30 percent of boat-related fatalities in Minnesota, alcohol is a factor.”
The other issue to address is boat operations ages. If you are 12-17 years of age, a permit is required to operate a boat. Anyone that is under the age of 13 cannot use a personal water-crafted Jet Ski. If the operator is 13 and older, it is required to have an individual 21 years of age or older with direct supervision overlooking them. If the operator is aged 14-17, they must have a watercraft permit. Wake Boats have been another problem in the past. “make sure to pay attention to your wake boat because it can cause damage to other boats that are docked and to shorelines,” said Hibma. “Own your wake; pay attention to where that’s going while operating on our waters.”
The Polk County Sheriff’s Department primarily patrols the waters yearly from May to September, depending on weather conditions. During winter, the department patrols with snowmobiles and ATVs to perform operations.
