At its May 21, 2024 meeting, Council approved the application to the MN DPS’s MN Safe Ride grant. The City of Shakopee was awarded $37,000 to expand the existing Safe Ride Program offered around specific holidays. The grant will allow staff to increase awareness of the program to community members and businesses by providing bars, entertainment venues, and hotels promotional flyers, cards, and digital content to share. It will also greatly increase the number of sober rides provided to residents and visitors, focusing on the addition of non-holiday evenings when the number of impaired drivers in Shakopee is likely higher. These evenings include local popular events where alcohol and cannabis may be consumed such as Rhythm on the Rails and the Tap event, the Renaissance Festival, and the days around certain holidays.