Broader DWI Law Among New MN Statutes Taking Effect Wednesday

ST. PAUL (AP) -- Starting Wednesday, Minnesota residents who get a DWI while driving a car won't be able to drive an ATV or snowmobile with impunity anymore.

That legal change is among several new laws due to take effect on Aug. 1.

The revised DWI law closes what lawmakers say was a loophole that let people keep their off-road privileges even if they got a DWI in a motor vehicle. It also bars a person who gets a DWI in any vehicle from driving a motorboat for a 90-day period between May 1 and Oct. 31.

The law is dubbed ``Little Alan's Law'' for 8-year-old Alan Geisenkoetter Jr.

Alan was killed in January when he was hit by a snowmobile driven by a man whose driver's license had been revoked for previous DWI offenses.