Renville County wins 2023 TZD Traffic Safety Innovation Award

On Tuesday, Renville County Public Health, Renville County Sheriff’s Office, and Minnesota State Patrol received the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) Traffic Safety Innovation Award for creating a program that improved access to car seats in southwestern Minnesota.
According to TZD, in some communities car seats aren’t available in local stores or other places, such as public health departments after business hours.
As part of the Renville County TZD Coalition, Sgt. Sabrina Skold, Krista Schneider of Renville County Public Health, and Deputy Karla Koplin of the Renville County Sheriff’s Office created a plan to make car seats available in all 10 communities within the county.
A spreadsheet tracks all of the car seat locations and expiration dates, and seats are stored at police and fire departments, along with installation videos for parents in case a technician is unavailable.
The annual traffic safety awards were presented by the Minnesota Departments of Health, Public Safety, and Transportation at the 2023 TZD conference held in Rochester.