Ask a Trooper:

[Lee Borgersen]

Ask a Trooper: Leaving your unattended car running .

By Sgt. Neil Dickenson, Minnesota State Patrol on Feb 21, 2016 at 3:40 p.m.

Q: Is it illegal to leave your unattended car running with the keys in the ignition?

A: There are some cities that have local ordinances against it, but there is no state statute that prohibits it.

In Duluth it is a violation of City Ordinance 33-91 to leave your vehicle unattended with the keys in it. Check your local ordinances in reference to this rule.


Car prowls and vehicle thefts are crimes of opportunity. There are many vehicle thefts where the vehicle was left unattended; the keys were left inside, doors unlocked. Get into the habit of locking your vehicle each time you are going to leave it unattended and take the keys with you.

I was involved in a pursuit of a stolen vehicle where the owner went into the gas station to pay for the fuel and left the car running and unlocked. The car was taken and was used to flee police. My patrol unit was damaged, along with the stolen vehicle that was being pursued.

Some good rules of thumb are:

Never leave your car running unattended.
Never leave your keys in the vehicle.
Always lock your vehicle.
Look at purchasing a remote car starter as most of them have a built in security features while your vehicle is running to prevent the vehicle from being driven.
Don’t leave valuables in plain sight. Place valuable items in the trunk if you can’t take them with you.
By following the above tips, you can reduce your chances of having your vehicle and/or your property inside it stolen.

[gophergunner]

Okay, I've got a question for you.  I got permission to deer hunt a property in the Lakeville area.  Unfortunately this falls within the city area that's off limints to hunting with firearms that fire a single projectile.  Buckshot is not a legal load for hunting deer in Minnesota.  My question is, would a person be within the letter of the law if they hunted with a muzzleloader and purposely loaded to roundballs?  Just curious.  I'd never try it, as I don't want to risk blowing up my CVA Hawkins, but would this meet the requirements of the law?  I'm sure I'd have to be prepared to pull the balls to show an officer that I wasn't shooting a single projectile.  I'll be bowhunting the property this fall.

[ray634]

As described it would seem that only shotgun with birdshot is legal for firearm hunting. Therefore deer hunting is only open for archery. This is likely due to concerns about stray projectiles impacting residential areas.
I would stick to archery in that area to avoid problems both with the law and with your gun.