The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

Related Photos

  • Mankato Mayor John Brady has been on the City Council for 14 years.

    Brady-DWI

August 23, 2010

Report: Mayor cited for DWI

By Dan Linehan Free Press Staff Writer

A Twin Cities television station reported Golden Valley police cited Mankato Mayor John Brady for a drunken driving offense Saturday afternoon.

According to the Fox9 report, Brady hit another vehicle as he was pulled over in the western Twin Cities suburb and was taken to detox. Brady missed a Saturday flight on a previously planned trip to China to promote a partnership to train Chinese pilots at Minnesota State University.

Mankato City Manager Pat Hentges said he received a call Monday morning from Brady saying he was leaving for China at that point. Hentges said the Mankato delegation had been taking two flights — one on Saturday morning and another Monday morning.

Hentges asked Brady if he had a statement but said he hadn’t gotten a reply.

The television station reported Brady was in a minor accident Saturday morning at about 7 a.m. near Jordan, but alcohol wasn’t a factor in that crash.

At about 1 p.m., a vehicle was spotted driving erratically on Interstate 35W near Lake Street, and Brady was pulled over 20 minutes later to the west, near Interstate 394 and Hopkins Crossroad, according to the report.

Fox9 reported Golden Valley police said Brady was “pretty intoxicated” and cited him for having an open container.

A Fox9 reporter visited Mankato and asked for reaction from council members just before Monday’s meeting, but they didn’t know about the incident and most did not have a reaction.

Councilman Mark Frost said if the reports about the drunken driving charge are true, he won’t just let it pass without comment.

“This will not be the last of this,” he said.

Frost’s wife was severely injured by a drunk driver about 30 years ago.

The Mankato delegation is scheduled to be on the trip to China through Monday.

Hentges said the city paid for Brady’s airplane ticket, but any extra costs that were a result of having to go on a later flight will be Brady’s to bear.

Brady has been on the council for 14 years and faces a re-election challenge from Eric Anderson this November. According to court records, Brady pleaded guilty to a 1992 charge of drunken driving in Blue Earth County.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News