(Wahpeton)– The Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council is requesting more patrols on the Iowa Great Lakes from the Department of Natural Resources.
Chairman Phil Peterson has composed a letter to the DNR outlining some specifics. For starters, he says they’d like to see additional Lake Patrol officers on the water. He says they’ve been operating with the same number of officers for about 25 years. The council is requesting atleast three more officers with coverage until atleast 2:00 a.m. Currently, Peterson says they don’t have good coverage after 11:00 p.m.
Peterson says they’re also requesting the DNR fill a vacant conservation officer position in Emmet county. He says that would give the area an additional full-time officer.
The Water Safety Council also wants seasonal water safety officers certified so they can make boating while intoxicated arrests.
Peterson says the council is also requesting the legislature tighten some boating laws. He says they’re making recommendations for leaving the scene of an accident when alcohol is involved making it an aggravated misdemeanor or a felony if a death is involved. Peterson says they also want changes made to the presumptive level for blood alcohol levels for boat operators from .10 to .08…the same as automobiles. Peterson says it only makes sense to have the same blood alcohol level requirement for boat operators as it is for drivers of automobiles.
Peterson says many of the ideas have been bandied about for a couple of years, but a fatal hit-and-run boat crash on West Lake Okoboji August 12th prompted the letter to DNR officials.
