MC Sheriff’s Office Awarded Toward Zero Deaths Grant

The Meeker County Sheriff’s Office was recently awarded a Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) grant. The grant will help to fund enforcement waves as Meeker County Deputies will concentrate on measures that will promote safe driving practices on our local roadways.

Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze says five E’s are promoted as part of the grant – education, enforcement, engineering, emergency medical facilities, and “everyone.” He says enforcement obviously includes deputies pulling over motorists when they observe unsafe driving behaviors; engineering includes safer designs of roadways and things like signage and lights that make the roads safer; and educating the public about safe driving because the bottom line is reducing crashes as even one death is one too many.

Sheriff Cruze says the safe driving enforcement will promote reducing speeds, wearing seatbelts, reducing distracted driving which often involves people using their phones, catching people driving under the influence, moving over for emergency vehicles, and looking out for pedestrians. He says there have been two fatalities in Meeker County, so far, this year, and some serious crashes.

Sheriff Cruze says statewide, there have been 311 fatalities so far in 2026 and there were 363 in 2025, but that’s down substantially from two decades ago when there would be well over 600 fatalities each year, and they’re hoping to get that number down to 225 by 2030. He says the $11,900 TDZ grant is for one year, and they will reapply next year.