Minnesota Highways, July 1954

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VOL.  3, NO.  9
1246 University Ave., St. Paul 4, Minn.
JULY,   1954
Larimer Named New Safety Director
Appointment Heralds
Beauty Galore in Highway
Summer is beauty contest time, and the Highway department has
its share of pretty girls. In the top photo, Arlene Houle, Finance, and
Yvonne Langenfeld, Plans, display their charms at the State Employees picnic June 25, where they placed in the top 10 among 30
entries. Arlene, Highway's No. 1 choice, also represented the Department in the Miss Universe contest.
Below are the seven division queens who competed. Front row,
left to right, Arlene Houle, Finance (1st); Joanne Widerski, Construction; Georgia Kleason, Right-of-Way and Legal; Audrey Trudeau,
Traffic and Safety. Back row, Joanne Tolaas, Patrol,, and Yvonne
Langenfeld, Plans, (runners-up), and Barbara Tschida, Drivers License.
Enforcement Campaign
Minnesota's stepped-up program of highway safety got a
"shot in the arm" July 1 when Earl M. Larimer, chief of the
State Highway Patrol since 1945, took over as the state's
first Director of Highway Safety.
The former patrol chief takes charge of a newly created
division in the Highway department aimed at mobilizing
all resources of the state in an
effort to reduce the toll of highway
accidents.
In his new job, Mr. Larimer
will coordinate and direct all traffic law enforcement and accident
prevention activities of the Highway Patrol, the Drivers License
division and driver examination
program, the accident records,
safety education and safety promotion functions of the former Traffic and Safety division, and the
administration of the Safety Responsibility act.
E. P. Lee will continue in
charge of the Drivers License
division, and Al Luecke of the
Minnesota Safety council will head
the Traffic Safety Promotion section.
Mr. Larimer's appointment was
announced June 25 by Commissioner M. J. Hoffmann and concurred in by Governor C. Elmer
Anderson. His selection culminates
a nation-wide search for the most
highly qualified man available to
remobilize all the state's traffic
safety agencies in a renewed fight
against the rising toll of street and
highway accidents.
Larimer, E. P. Lee, director of
the Drivers License division, and
Donald S. Buck, traffic safety director for the U. S. Army Transportation corps, rated as the top
three candidates in a nation-wide
exam for the position held by the
Civil Service department in April.
(Continued  on  page  2)
EARL M. LARIMER
Patrol Expanded
For Crackdown
Minnesota's State Highway Patrol has been expanded and stricter enforcement of drivers license
suspensions is being invoked as
the first steps in the new safety
director's war on traffic law violators.
Just prior to the Fourth of July
week-end, Mr. Larimer announced
that his first step as highway safetv
director would be to add 40 one-
man patrol cars to the force. They
are being operated by patrolmen
who   were  formerly   part  of two-
(Continued  on  page  2)