Dangers of GPS tracking

Happening today

☀️ Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies this afternoon. High temperatures in the mid-70s.

🏛️ The Minnesota State House of Representatives will be taking up the public safety omnibus, which includes gun violence prevention measures including extreme risk protection orders, universal background checks, and violence intervention funding.

🌉 The Minnesota Department of Transportation will resume the Stillwater Lift Bridge lift schedule at 8 a.m. Later this week, the Bridge lift and loop trail is expected to reopen to trail users once the St. Croix River flood waters recede and the city of Stillwater removes the temporary levee along the river.

Weekend recap

🚓 Heavy rain in southern Minnesota Saturday led to road closures, flooding and a mudslide over a highway. Images shared by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook showed mud and rocks flooding on to Highway 68 south of Courtland. The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed the road, so crews could clear it.

🏪 This weekend, a special event called Doors Open allowed residents to visit Minneapolis landmarks, including the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, the spot that prints money for banks across the Midwest. The event aims to pull the curtain back on iconic sites in Minneapolis and allows the public a glimpse inside some of the most important buildings in the city.
 

How GPS tracking devices have been misused in Minnesota: ‘It feels like I’m getting terrorized’

It is illegal to use GPS tracking devices without someone’s consent to track their location. However, there are still several cases in the state which reveal the risks of GPS tracking devices and how they can be misused.

In December 2018, Shawn Kelly Thomason was discovered to have tracked his ex-girlfriend across three states. Investigative records reveal he put GPS trackers on her car to stalk her to Mankato, Minnesota. 

The victim told authorities in an interview: “I was mostly really scared and I panicked immediately.”

Some of these devices are $20 or less, have no alert system, and easily adhere to the bottom of vehicles.

“If we think that there is a possibility or if we have a notification on our phone that an AirTag is following us, contact law enforcement, file a report, take your car to a to a service station and ask someone to take a look,” security expert Mark Lanterman said. “We need to be proactive and maintain our own security.”