State Rep. Dan Wolgamott, DFL-St. Cloud, is facing two misdemeanor DWI charges in connection to his July 7 drunk driving arrest, according to a citation filed Monday.
Wolgamott had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.099, above the legal limit of 0.08, according to the Kanabec County Attorney’s Office, which was waiting on test results from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension before filing a citation.
Prior to his arrest, security camera video captured Wolgamott exiting a Mora, Minn., liquor store and taking a drink from a bottle before driving away. A State Patrol report said police received a complaint about a driver of a Lincoln MKZ who was “drinking in a liquor store parking lot.” Wolgamott was later pulled over driving eastbound on Highway 23 and identified as the driver of that vehicle.
NEW: Security video shows DFL Rep. Dan Wolgamott apparently taking pulls from a liquor bottle in a Mora, Minn., parking lot before his July 7 drunk driving arrest. A state patrol report says police received a complaint about an individual drinking in a liquor store parking lot. pic.twitter.com/3V6nFpGSCz
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) July 20, 2023
His vehicle was missing a front license plate, had expired tabs, and “appeared to be weaving.” The trooper who arrested Wolgamott observed “signs of alcohol impairment.”
Wolgamott apologized in a statement to the media about two weeks after the incident.
“I wholeheartedly apologize to my family, my friends, my colleagues, and my constituents, and thank the law enforcement officers who made sure I got home safe,” he said. “I take full responsibility for my actions, and I ask for your forgiveness. I am committed to doing the work I need to do in my life to ensure nothing like this ever happens again and that my actions live up to the trust you have placed in me.”
Wolgamott was previously cited in 2021 when he abandoned his vehicle after it crashed into a Golden Valley resident’s yard.
Wolgamott is in his third term representing the St. Cloud area in the Minnesota House of Representatives. His district frequently flips between DFL and GOP control.
He was recently named the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association’s “Legislator of the Year” and served as speaker pro tempore during the 2023 legislative session.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
