Olmsted County sheriff among those honored in traffic safety awards

(ABC 6 News) – The Olmsted County sheriff was recognized as a leader in Minnesota traffic safety Wednesday.

Sheriff Kevin Torgerson received the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) Distinguished Public Leadership Award for Greater Minnesota at the 2022 conference Oct. 12.

All award-winners were recognized for efforts to reduce the number of traffic deaths and injuries in Minnesota.

A summary of all 2022 TZD Awards presented on Oct. 12 is listed below. More details on each award, along with more information and photos of each award winner, can found on the 2022 TZD Awards website.

Twin Cities Metro area winners

• TZD Kathy Swanson Outstanding Service Award – Dakota County Traffic Engineer Kristi Sebastian
• TZD Distinguished Public Leadership Award (Twin Cities Metro area) – Chief Jeff Tate, Shakopee Police Department
• TZD Media Award – Boyd Huppert, KARE-11 television journalist
• TZD Traffic Safety Innovation Award – Richfield Police Department
• TZD Child Passenger Safety Star Award – Officer Ryan Kuffel, Eden Prairie Police Department
• TZD Engineering Star Award – State Traffic Safety Engineer Derek Leuer, MnDOT

Greater Minnesota winners

• TZD Distinguished Public Leadership Award (Greater Minnesota) – Sheriff Kevin Torgerson, Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office
• TZD Emerging Leader Award – Ava Chen, Kylie Karsky and Molly McCloud, 2021 interns for the Shreya R. Dixit Foundation
• TZD Emerging Leader Award – Princeton High School SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) Organization
• TZD Emergency and Trauma Services Star Award – Flight Paramedic Josh Duda, North Memorial Health Air Care, Brainerd
• TZD Enforcement Star Award – Deputy Chad Myers, Winona County Sheriff’s Office
• TZD Education Star Award – TZD Coalition Coordinator Mary Erickson, Renville County

Learn more about TZD or how to get involved at www.minnesotatzd.org.