Drunk driving dispatches

The mayor of Mankato avoided jail time when he was sentenced for drunk driving today, the Star Tribune reports. Hennepin County District Court Judge Denise Reilly gave Mayor John Brady 60 days’ community service instead. He pleaded guilty to the charges. He was arrested in August.

“Most don’t come back because they’re humiliated, embarrassed and realize just how dangerous their behavior was,” the paper quotes Judge Reilly as saying. “I believe you’re taking the steps to ensure we never see you again.”

If Brady is a typical Minnesota drunk driver, there’s a good chance he’ll be back.

According to a 2003 study by the Minnesota House of Representatives, half of those arrested for drunk driving, have been arrested before for drunk driving.

More than 200,000 Minnesota drivers have at least two DWIs on their record.

Brady is lucky. He didn’t kill anyone. Not so — allegedly — for Brady Erickson. Prosecutors today said he had two beers and a shot of liquor hours before driving his car on I-94, slamming into a group of kids changing a flat tire, killing three of them.