Congratulations to this year's award recipients! Awards were presented at the 2025 TZD Conference on October 21 in Prior Lake, MN.
2025 Star Awards
Enforcement: Commander Kathleen Brown
From her earliest days as a TZD officer with the St. Paul Police Department (SPPD), Commander Kathleen (Kat) Brown has demonstrated a deep commitment to reducing roadway fatalities and injuries. In early 2021, Commander Brown assumed responsibility for managing the Ramsey County TZD grant—helping to grow it by nearly 20 percent each year—expanding enforcement hours, funding new equipment, and supporting specialized training. She routinely brings fresh ideas to the table, from targeted speed‐enforcement details to pop‑up “hotspot” details in residential neighborhoods where crash rates have spiked.
Drawing on her background as a former school resource officer, Commander Brown has forged strong ties with St. Paul Public Schools and taken an active role in the Safe Routes to School program—in addition to contributing to school safety plans and advocating tirelessly for infrastructure improvements, crosswalk enhancements, and targeted enforcement near campuses. Within SPPD, Commander Brown has created a culture of mentorship and continuous learning, introducing mandatory TZD training for all new officers.
Emergency Medical & Trauma Services: Jay Ragalie
Jay Ragalie is a full-time paramedic and field training officer with North Memorial EMS in the Faribault/New Prague/Waseca region and an adjunct instructor for South Central College for the Paramedic Program in North Mankato. Jay also serves on the Minnesota EMS Honor Guard.
He routinely volunteers for extra duties and assumes leadership roles in efforts to advance public safety, EMS, and the goals of TZD. He serves on the South-Central College EMS advisory committee to ensure education curriculum is up to current health care standards as well as to seek innovative training and education opportunities. Jay recently became a Coaching the Emergency Vehicle Operator (CEVO) instructor at North Memorial EMS and volunteers with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as a snowmobile, ATV, and firearms instructor to educate the public and promote safe driving and operation of off-road vehicles.
Education: Investigator Audra Rawlings
Investigator Audra Rawlings is a leader and mentor in traffic safety with the St. Paul Police Department (SPPD). In her role as the “DWI car” for four years, she conducted approximately 3,500 traffic stops, leading to several arrests for impaired driving. In addition, Audra teaches Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement, and drug recognition evaluator (DRE) courses throughout the year for the SPPD and outside agencies. Audra also instructs at DRE School and travels to Philadelphia to help certify new DREs.
Audra completely revamped the SPPD SFST program and has, without a doubt, trained hundreds of officers over hundreds of hours in the last four years alone. Audra was recently promoted and now serves the SPPD as a detective, but she remains dedicated to traffic safety, routinely working TZD details.
Child Passenger Safety: Tara Helm
As community programs and occupant protection manager with the Minnesota Safety Council, Tara Helm has advanced occupant protection programs in Minnesota with remarkable impact in a short time. She supported updates to state legislation to better align with best practices for keeping children safe on Minnesota’s roadways, led the development of Buckle Up MN—a new statewide occupant protection website she shaped into a go-to resource for families and partners across Minnesota, and rejuvenated the statewide Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Advisory Taskforce.
Tara also continued the rollout of a streamlined car seat education program for daycare providers and foster families, oversaw the development of multilingual car seat education materials, and became a CPST instructor—all while welcoming her first baby! Through her leadership, communication with stakeholders has been strengthened and resources are more accessible. Most of all, Minnesota’s families have a dedicated advocate who is willing to listen to them and act on their behalf.
Engineering: Almin Ramic
Almin Ramic, Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Metro South Area traffic safety engineer, advocates for safety improvements on Minnesota’s roads that he knows will help save lives, even in the face of challenges and political headwinds. His leadership has fostered collaboration with stakeholders in highway safety, from citizens to elected officials to partner agencies.
Almin has used his expertise in geometric design and traffic safety to implement dozens of safety projects and millions of dollars in improvements across the south metro region. Examples include J-turns on US 212 and US 169 and a mini-roundabout corridor on Highway 316 in Hastings that has been called “transformational” and “a model for success.” As a key member of Scott and Dakota County TZD coalitions, he frequently volunteers at auto show booths and with Safe Routes to School programs. In addition, Almin has used his connections to help share his passion and expertise with traffic safety professionals in his native Bosnia.
Legal Professional: Amy Tripp-Steiner
In her role as senior assistant Minneapolis city attorney, Amy Tripp-Steiner has developed many positive relationships with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, law enforcement agencies, and prosecution offices across the state and around the nation. She is often asked to present trainings and consult on DWI and other traffic safety issues and cases and is a valuable resource for new drug recognition evaluators (DREs) to learn from a knowledgeable prosecutor.
Amy also continues to litigate contested evidentiary hearings and trials in court as well as appeals at the Minnesota Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. She has been instrumental in planning, developing, and training on the procedures and report writing regarding the Oral Fluid Project and serves on the DRE Steering Committee and the Minnesota DWI Task Force.
Emerging Leader Award
Vantage Program Multimedia Class of Minnetonka High School
The South Lake Minnetonka and Lake Minnetonka Police Departments were looking for a way to target younger roadway users with traffic safety messaging—an often-difficult demographic to reach. They approached Minnetonka High School’s Vantage Program Multimedia Class to produce various traffic safety PSAs.
The result was creative, professional, and engaging videos on traffic safety issues such as impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding, road rage, and drowsy driving. The videos have been featured on the Highway 7 Safety Coalition social media, Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety and Department of Public Safety social media, and Kwik Trip gas pumps. The team’s work is making an impact and will likely save lives and prevent injuries among Minnesota’s younger drivers.