If you drove out by the Steele County Fairgrounds on Wednesday evening, you would have seen a very large law enforcement presence, in addition to that, the Fire Department and Mayo Ambulance. It was the 15th Annual Have a Healthy and Safe Summer Expo, sponsored by the Mayo Clinic Health System.

They had, in addition to law enforcement, activities for the kiddos to do, you could check in at a table in the Four Seasons Center, and get a bag to take around to the different stations to complete different activities. There was water safety, ID cards, a teddy bear check-up complete with doctors in white coats. Sparky's Fire Safety House was there as well. I spoke to the members of the Fire Department, they said that they use that house to teach kids how to get out of a burning structure safely. I did not get to see a demo of that.

Even more popular than the different booths and activities were the police cars, sheriff's car, the mounted posse, and the fire truck and Mayo ambulance. What kid doesn't love crawling around those vehicles or petting a horse? There were a lot of families with younger children, and the looks on the kiddos faces, priceless. Especially when the lights were turned on.

There was a demonstration of the proper way to use a seatbelt, along with the most current recommendations. When I stopped to ask questions, they told me that my daughter doesn't look like she needs to be in a car seat anymore, of course, she is 14 and taller than me already, so there is that. A good reminder for all, Minnesota's seat belt law is a primary offense, so everyone in the vehicle must be wearing their seatbelts, or be in an approved child safety seat.

Safety is a big deal, and this was yet another way to involve the community and children in safety presentations. Unfortunately, we missed seeing the K9 demo and the helicopter landing.  Oh well, there is always next year. We did, however, get free 1919 Rootbeer!

More From KRFO-AM