Inside This Issue

A u g us t 2 01 9 P u b l i c a t i on o f t he

M inne so t a P ro f e s s i o na l To w ing A s so c i a t i o n

MPTA Members have a Blast at Elko Speedway

“Once again the MPTA’s Eve of Destruction didn’t disappoint”

This past August 3rd marks the sixth time the MPTA has hosted

and sponsored its annual picnic at Elko Speedway. Over 225

MPTA towing members, friends and family attended this perfect

evening of fun and excitement. The evening began with towing

members displaying their trucks and equipment out on the plaza for

the crowds of people to view.

Around 4:00, a buffet style meal of Hamburgers and Hot dogs with

all the fixings was served along with a live 50/50 raffle, raising

$750 for the International Towing Museum “Survivors Fund” and

$350 contributed to MPTA Lobbying fund. Congratulations to

Brandon of Mark’s Towing winning a cool $1,200 in cash! Our

towing members have the biggest hearts. For information about

the “survivors fund , visit https://internationaltowingmuseum.org/

survivor-fund/

Towing members and families were also treated to several raffle

prizes from the MPTA and its sponsors as many kiddos were given

DQ gift cards. This was just the beginning!

MPTA members led the “parade lap” out on the track with their

wreckers dressed up in American flags, lights flashing as race fans

cheered on our members. With many events including live racing

and other activities as the “Eve of Destruction” was under way as

Elko Speedway didn’t disappoint.

Newsbreak

Presidents Letter

2-Day Advanced Light Duty Tow

Truck Operator Registration Form

ELD Training Checklist For Motor

Carriers

Gas Prices: News about oil that will

impact what Towing Operators

may pay per galloon

Fun Facts About the Month of

August

Minnesota selects private vendor to

replace troubled MNLARS system

MPTA Announces Two-Day Ad-

vanced Heavy Duty Tow School

Featuring Miller Industries Tom

Luciano

Dug & Alcohol Clearing House Ex-

panded FAQs

MPTA Annual Meeting

National Traffic Incident Response

Awareness Week

(continued on page 4)

MPTA Board of Directors

MPTA contact information:

2886 Middle Street

Little Canada, MN 55117

Phone: 651-487-2231

Fax: 651-487-2447

Email: admin@mnprotow.org

If you would like to make a

contribution to help with the legislative

efforts, please send your donations to:

MPTA

2886 Middle Street

Little Canada, MN 55117

PRESIDENT

Brett Letourneau

Citywide Service Corp.

9309 83rd Ave. N.

Brooklyn Park, MN 55445

763-424-4900

‘18-’21

Lance Burda

Burdas Towing

PO Box 249

Rogers, MN 55374

763-428-9911

‘16-’19

SECRETARY/TREASURER

Ron Feist

Feist Automotive

1875 N. Lilac Dr.

Golden Valley, MN 55422

763-544-5512

‘17-’20

Joe Lomsdal

Aggressive Towing

2636 16th Ave So

Moorhead, MN 56560

218-287-2344

‘17-’20

Lonnie Krackow

Borkowski Towing & Salvage

PO Box 868

Winona, MN 55987

507-452-9073

‘16-’19

Kyle Siewert

Siewert’s Towing

3424 North Service Dr

Red Wing, MN 55066

651-388-9163

‘18-’21

DIRECTORS:

Jenn Pearson

Twin Cities Wrecker Sales

1301 Jackson St

St. Paul, MN 55117

651-488-4210

‘16-’19

LOBBYIST

Rob Leighton

Nolan, Thompson, & Leighton

952-405-7171

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Lance Klatt

2886 Middle Street

Little Canada, MN 55117

651-487-2231

LEGAL COUNSEL

Randy Thompson

Nolan, Thompson, & Leighton

952-405-7171

OFFICE STAFF

Nikki Steger

2886 Middle Street

Little Canada, MN 55117

651-487-2231

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 2

VICE - PRESIDENT

Ron Gardas Jr.

Twin Cities Transport & Recovery

3760 Flowerfield Rd

Blaine, MN 55014

763-784-7501

‘18-’21

Phil Collins

Collins Brothers Towing Inc.

PO Box 405

Elk River, MN 55330

763-241-00497

‘17-’20

Presidents Letter

Written by President, Brett Letourneau

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 3

Greetings everyone,

WOW! what a great turn out at MPTA’s sixth annual picnic hosted at Elko Speedway. Each year our annual picnic gets

bigger and better! Spectator Drags, what can I say? This was my first-year driving and had a blast! Appreciate my fel-

low board directors and members of the MPTA for coming out and making this year the best picnic thus far.

During our event, our membership and friends of the Towing Association raised $750 for the International Towing Hall of

Fame and Museum’s “Survivor Fund”. Nice going everyone. Our Annual picnic is about working together building a

better foundation for our Association and our industry. Elko Speedway is a great venue; messaging thousands of race

fans reminding everyone, to slow down, move over! The message is working.

We have hosted two outstate meetings in the past couple of months (Marshall and Albert Lea). Thinking we would like to

go northwest in the near future? At each meeting, we are receiving great attendance sharing industry knowledge and op-

portunity as we can become better leaders.

September is packed with Tow schools. September 10th & 11th is our two-day Advanced Light Duty Tow school as Sep-

tember 24th and 25th is our two-day Heavy Duty with Miller Industries’ Tom Luciano. Hotel rooms are available for both

schools at the Holiday INN in Vadnais Heights as MPTA reserved rooms at a discounted rate. Our annual meeting is the

evening of September 24th at 6:30pm at Jimmy’s in Vadnais Heights. Be great to have our membership attend our meet-

ing discussing the past year and the what lies ahead in 2020.

Hope to see all of you at one of our out-state meetings, tow schools or our annual meeting! Enjoy the rest of your

summer!

Brett

The highlight of the evening was the AAA Minneapolis and Corporate Four spectator drags, or shall I say, “the

demo derby”? Eighteen MPTA towing members brought their own cars to track testing their driving skills. Congrat-

ulations to Karra Halland winning Bragging rights and $150 cash! Second Place finisher was Tim Heldman win-

ning $100 cash and bringing up the rear in third was Josh Vadnais wining $50 cash. Special thanks to those for tak-

ing the time bringing a car to the track and giving the crows a heck of show!

From what I am hearing, MPTA members and guests had great time. If you missed the MPTA Annual Picnic at

Elko Speedway this year, you will have to attend next year to see how we can top this past year’s event.

MPTA thanks the following sponsors/contributors to this year’s Annual Picnic:

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 4

The Original

1st Place– Karra Halland 2nd Place– Tim Heldman MPTA President, Brett Letourneau

and 50/50 Winner Brandon

(continued from front page)

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 5

2-Day Advanced Light Duty Tow Truck Operator Two Day Hands-On Training Class September 10th & 11th, 2019

Held at the MN Dot Building - 244 East Maryland Ave - St Paul, MN 55117

Registration Form

Please send completed form to: MPTA

2886 Middle Street

Little Canada, MN 55117

Phone: 651-487-2231

Fax: 651-487-2447

Hands-On Training

Members: $325.00 per student

Non-members: $425.00 per student

Dispatchers:

Free with paid membership

This two day course will focus on the advanced towing and recovery including basic/advanced hook-ups and

roll-overs/embankments with hands-on training instructed by Ron Feist, Ron Gardas Jr. and the Minnesota

Professional Towing Association Board of Directors.

Name of Student (s):

Business Name

Address

Phone

Member #:

Total $

Method of Payment: Discover MasterCard Visa Check

Credit Card # Signature

Exp. Date: CVS Code

Grand Total

• Minimum of 15 participants to hold class

• Cancellation Policy - credit only for future schools

September 10, 2019 Agenda

7:30am Registration

8:00am to 5:00pm Classroom &

Hands-on Traning

• Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

• A pair of gloves and work clothes will be needed, expect to get dirty.

September 11, 2019 Agenda

8:00am to 4:00pm Classroom &

Hands-on training

• Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

• A pair of gloves and work clothes will be needed, expect to get dirty.

***All Participants will receive MPTA Certification Certificate***

Hotel: Holiday Inn

Express & Suites

1100 East Co Rd E

Vadnais Heights, MN

6851-484-2400

A block of rooms

Available– just mention

MPTA.

MPTA Newsbreak ~ March 2019 7

(continued on next page)

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 8

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 9

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE MONTH OF AUGUST

1. The birthstones for August are the peridot and the sardonyx.

2. The zodiac signs for August are Leo (July 23 – August 22) and Virgo (August 23 – September 22)

3. August in the Northern Hemisphere is similar to February in the Southern Hemisphere.

4. August’s flower is the gladiolus. The flower was discovered in Africa in the 17-18th centuries and was

initially used as food (don’t try this at home!).

5. The name “August” was given by Roman emperor August, in 8BC. Until then, the Romans called August

“Sextilis” meaning the sixth month of their calendar. Augusts claimed this month his own because most of his

victories occurred during August. Many other versions of the name designate this month as Harvest Month.

Gas prices: News about oil that will impact what

Towing Operators may pay per gallon

Oil prices plummeted last week after new data showed an unexpected build in oil, gas and distillate inventory sup-

plies last week – and that is likely another good sign for towing operators

Oil prices plunged to their lowest level since June 13 – down five percent at times during the trading session. As

of Wednesday afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude was trading at $51.17 per barrel – down more than 4.5

percent, while Brent Crude was trading around $56.35 per barrel

Brent crude is falling into bear market territory, nearly 20 percent off its April peak.

And while inventories might have a short-term impact, an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China is likely

to continue to weigh on prices.

Tensions ramped up over the past week as President Trump communicated his intent to impose 10 percent tariffs

on the remaining $300 billion worth of goods coming into the U.S. from China. In response, China allowed the

value of the yuan to drop to a more than 10-year low against the U.S. dollar – after which the U.S. labeled China a

“currency manipulator.”

“Demand [for gasoline] is likely to suffer not only because [of] the trade rift, but as summer closes, demand will

drop,” That means lower gas prices are likely on their way for towing operators.

As of last week, the national average was $2.69 per gallon, according to AAA. That is down about 3 cents from

last week, 6 cents month over month and 17 cents from the same time last year.

While a handful of gas stations are already seeing prices sink below the $2 per gallon threshold – a continuation of

the trade tensions could exacerbate that trend.

By Thanksgiving, towing operators could see sub-$2/gal mainly in low price states in the South, perhaps a few

stations in the heartland and Great Lakes.

If the trade war escalates, the national average could fall as much as 50 cents per gallon by Thanksgiving.

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 10

WWW.FMCSA.DOT.GOV

Minnesota selects private vendor to replace troubled MNLARS system

State will pay nearly $34M to start over with licensing and registration system. By Jessie Van Berkel Star Tribune

Minnesota officials have selected a replacement for the state’s beleaguered vehicle licensing and registration computer

system, the source of years of costly headaches for administrators and motorists.

The state is spending nearly $34 million on the new system after deciding to do away with the Minnesota Licensing and

Registration System (MNLARS), which was developed in-house at a cost of more than $100 million. The bulk of the

new system is slated to be in place in November 2020, with all work completed in late 2021.

Colorado-based Fast Enterprises was the lone company to respond to the state’s search for a private software solution.

The state previously worked with the company to develop its system to issues Real IDs.

Gaye Smith, who manages the South St. Paul license center, and Suzanne Jensen, who runs another one in Blue Earth

County, said they are excited to make the switch to Fast Enterprises.

“They gave us great training, the Fast team, great training. And they were just so available,” Jensen said of the Real ID

process.

Eleven other states have used the company’s car title and registration software. Smith said she called people who work

with the systems in a few of those states and they gave the company good reviews.

“I feel a lot more comfortable with where we’re heading,” she said.

When MNLARS rolled out in 2017 it quickly prompted a backlash from people like Smith and Jensen, who operate the

private and public license centers around the state. They are still dealing with inefficiencies and customers being charged

twice or the wrong fee, Smith said.

The cost to taxpayers continued to pile up over the past couple years as the state worked to fix system flaws and glitches

and hire enough staff to handle a backlog of requests for license plates, titles and driver’s licenses.

The error-prone system led Gov. Tim Walz to hire outside experts for an independent review. The study determined the

least risky solution would be to employ packaged software already used by other states.

Walz announced in May that he was going to give up on MNLARS and go with a private software option. The decision

was applauded by Republican lawmakers, who had been pushing former Gov. Mark Dayton to take that approach.

“This contract is the product of a bipartisan process with a simple goal: Make sure Minnesotans can get their vehicle ti-

tles, license plates, and tabs on time and error-free,” Walz said in a statement Thursday. “Not only will this solution pro-

duce more efficient results, but this process has also laid a foundation for us to move forward on other critical issues fac-

ing our state.”

Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, was one of the leading critics of the MNLARS system. He put out a statement crediting

Walz for listening to outside experts and moving on from what he called “the MNLARS disaster.”

(continued on next page)

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 11

“Fast Enterprises delivered a Real ID system that is already up and running, and it’s my hope we’re just a couple short

years away from a fully functioning system that works well for deputy registrars and the Minnesotans they serve each

day,” Torkelson said.

Minnesota will continue to use MNLARS as it phases in Fast Enterprise’s software. The state’s contract with the compa-

ny expires at the end of October 2021, but can be extended up to five years. The rollout of the new software will occur in

two steps.

Work on the first part will start this month and will take 16 months to complete, according to the company’s project plan.

It is focused on replacing MNLARS capabilities such as titling. The second rollout 10 months later will add new func-

tions that are not currently available with MNLARS.

It is not the first time Minnesota has looked to the private sector to solve a technology problem.

State officials only decided to do the work in-house after ending a contract with Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2014. The tech

company, which had worked with many other states on similar projects, spent two years on the system before the state

severed the contract because HP missed deadlines and failed to meet the state’s standards, according to audit documents.

(continued from previous page)

MPTA Announces Two-Day Advanced Heavy- Duty Tow School

Featuring Miller Industries Tom Luciano!

The Minnesota Professional Towing Association is hosting a two-day Advanced Heavy- Duty Tow School featur-

ing Miller Industries Tom Luciano on September 24th and September 25th of this fall. Please mark your calendars

for this next big event in Heavy- Duty Towing and Recovery!

Tom Luciano is one of the best in the business. Do not let this opportunity pass you or organization by. More in-

formation forth coming in the very near future!

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 12

EXPANDED FAQs

Browse by Topics, Filter by User Roles

The website for the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov)

has been updated with expanded frequently asked questions. Users can filter by user type, or by

topics including:

• General Information

• Registration

• Security

• Queries and Consent Requests

• Reporting Violations

• Return-to-Duty

• Cross-Border Transportation

FMCSA Website: https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/FAQ?utm_source=FMCSA&utm_medium=Field%

20email&utm_campaign=FAQs

Updated (Info) CBD Oil and Its Effect on Your Drug Screen

On June 13th, there was a webcast discussing CBD Oil and the effect it can have on an employee’s drug

screen. In case you may have missed the webcast, you and your towing organization can watch the

webcast from that day.

Below is the link to be able to watch the one-hour recorded webcast:

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2016482/44F2031336A71FF613BA06606A532D84?

mode=login&email=matthew.marrin@dot.gov

Proceed by clicking on the blue box that says “Log in”

MPTA Annual Meeting

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Held at Jimmy’s Event Center

1132 Co. Rd East

Vadnais Heights, MN 55110

Meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Dinner to follow

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 13

National Traffic Incident Response Awareness Week

November 10th-16th, 2019

TRAFFIC EMERGENCY ACTIONS MATTER

Be part of the TEAM!

Incident response is always on our minds.

Every minute of everyday emergency responders across the country work to help save lives at the scene of traffic

incidents. Too many are struck on scene. Too many die. The goal of National Traffic Incident Response Awareness

Week is, for the fourth year, to reach out to every responder, and to every driver, and to every passenger, to make it

more clear that every person has a role to play. Stay tuned here for resources to help you reach out to your communi-

ties, to your organizations, and to your hero responders.

Public Safety Announcements & Informational Videos

Follow link: http://timnetwork.org/traffic-incident-response-awareness-week/

Emergency Responder Safety Institute

Other Sources

Public Outreach Toolkits

Safety Highlight Videos

Training Videos

Member Directory Albert Lea Allen’s Tow & Travel

507-373-3551

Anoka North Star Towing

763-427-4160

Apple Valley Dick’s Valley Service

952-432-2848

Austin Midtown Towing

507-433-7374

Baxter Collins Brothers Towing

Of St. Cloud, Inc.

218-822-5525

Blackduck Bogart’s Towing

218-835-4548

Blaine Twin Cities Transport

& Recovery

763-784-7501

Dan’s Complete Auto Care

763-784-8668

Frovik’s Towing

763-786-9220

Blue Tow Service

763-786-9020

Blooming Prairie

Darrick’s Preferred Auto

507-583-9994

Bloomington Chief’s Towing, Inc.

952-888-2201

Brooklyn Park Cardinal Towing

763-535-1202

Citywide Service

763-424-4900

Burnsville Captain Towing

952-856-2901

Cannon Falls Siewert’s Towing

507-263-4791

Coon Rapids Highway 10 Towing

763-757-6789

Corky’s Towing

612-919-1106

Crystal North Suburban Towing

763-535-2201

Schmit Towing

763-253-1568

Detroit Lake

Aggressive Towing & Recovery

218-287-2344

Duluth Dukes Towing

218-722-8885

Mrs. Mac’s Towing

218-393-7377

East End Towing

218-349-3991

Eagan Mark’s Towing

651-454-1533

Justman Freight Lines

651-423-1020

Magnum Towing

651-423-7201

The Auto Club Group

952-707-4775

Eden Valley Jack’s Towing

320-453-6560

Elk River Collins Brothers Towing

763-241-9177

Excelsior Williams Towing

952-446-9650

Faribault Glenn’s Service LLC

507-334-4202

Fergus Falls Beyer Towing

218-205-6137

Forest Lake Dan’s Towing

654-464-5551

Harold’s Towing & Recovery

651-464-5313

Golden Valley Feist Automotive

763-544-5512

Hamel

MN Towing and Repair

612-326-6687

Ham Lake

Towing Resources & Recovery

763-434-2828

Inver Grove Heights

South East Towing

651-451-9721

Ironton

AutoSmith Service Group

1-218-545-5715

Lakeville Marek’s Towing & Repair

952-469-3182

Mankato Affordable Towing

507-388-8697

All American Towing

507-345-5005

Maple Grove

Chase Towing & Transport

763-315-3995

Marshall

Pulver Towing

507-828-5720

Medina Kelly’s Wrecker Services

763-473-0558

Melrose Shaggy’s Towing

320-256-7855

Minneapolis Blaine Brothers

763-780-5130

Miller Towing

612-827-5591

Schmit Towing

763-253-1568

Minnetonka Kustom Karriers

952-938-4680

Moorhead Aggressive Towing & Recovery

218-287-2344

Ed’s Towing Service

218-233-7740

New Brighton Freeway Towing

651-633-5525

Statewide Towing

651-633-4262

Oakdale Twin Cities Transport

& Recovery

651-770-0152

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 14

Member Directory Red Wing Midway Auto

651-388-8296

Siewerts Garage

651-388-9163

Rochester CSC Towing

507-289-8344

Rochester Towing, LLC

507-288-7317

Pulver Towing

507-282-3851

Rogers Burdas Towing

763-428-9911

Sauk Centre Centre Towing Inc.

320-352-1500

Savage Allen’s Service Inc.

952-894-1000

Scanlon Blaine Brothers

218-879-6681

Spring Lake Park Citywide Service

763-432-4550

St. Anthony Twin Cities Transport

& Recovery

612-789-4245

St. Cloud Collins Brothers Towing

Of St. Cloud, Inc.

320-257-5525

Andy’s Towing

320-251-5691

St. Francis

Ark Towing & Recovery

763-434-1686

St. Paul

Twin Cities Transport & Recovery

651-642-1446

The Standard Tow Company

651-235-5252

Stillwater Stillwater Towing

651-439-5744

Virginia

Armory Shell Towing & Service

218-741-6050

Waseca Bocks Service Inc.

507-835-5407

Tesch Service Center

507-835-4610

Willmar

Ed’s Service Center & Sales

320-235-5945

Winona

Borkowski Towing & Salvage

507-452-9073

Zumbrota Bergs Towing & Repair

507-732-5613

IOWA Sioux City

Meier Towing Inc

712-258-0609

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck Berg’s 24 Hour Towing

701-663-6491

SOUTH DAKOTA Big Stone

The Shop, Inc.

605-862-8215

Sioux Falls

Ace Towing Inc.

605-332-2173 WISCONSIN

Ashland

Tomlinson’s 24 Hour Towing

715-682-2717

Baldwin Day & Nite Towing, LLC

715-684-3359

Balsam Lake

Lake Services Unlimited

715-857-5753

LaCrosse

Goldbeck Towing Service

608-781-4869

Independence

Kabus Auto Body & Recovery

715-985-2252

Roberts Jerry’s Towing

715-749-4450

Superior Lake City Towing

218-722-7781

ASSOCIATE

Auto & Equipment Sales

AW Direct

Tom Welsh 608-662-3350

Tom’s Auto Sales

Ryan Tubbesing 651-482-8795

Twin Cities Wrecker Sales

Rod Pellow 651-488-4210

Zip’s Truck Equipment

Paul Rottinghaus 1-800-222-6047 Accountants

Haworth & Company, Ltd

Gary Haworth 651-783-5763

Compliance Management Services

Midwest Compliance Inc

Billy Woolsey 320-656-1396

Financing/Leasing

Water Street Funding

Tim Olson 763-742-7898

Health Insurance

Haas Managed Benefits

Bill Haas 763-421-6153 Insurance

Midwest Insurance Service

John Hall 651-439-5939

Truck Writers, Inc.

Shawn Sullivan 763-785-0500

Uniforms

Cintas

Brad Beyer 763-391-5266

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2019 15

Upcoming Events

2- Day, Advanced Light Duty

Tow School

September 10 & 11, 2019

MN Dot Building

244 East Maryland Ave

St Paul, MN 55117

Registration form on page 6

2- Day, Heavy Duty Tow School

Featuring Tom Luciano

September 24 & 25, 2019

Times and place

To be determined

Look for more information to follow