Minnesota’s First-Ever Speed Camera is Now Up and Running

Minnesota just hit the gas on a high-tech way to slow you down. The state’s first-ever speed camera is now up and running, and if you’re driving too fast, it might just catch more than your good side.

If you’ve got a lead foot behind the wheel, you’ll want to pay attention: Minnesota has given the green light to speed cameras, and the first one is up and running and is already snapping photos of speeding drivers here in the North Star State.

Minnesota has never had automated speed enforcement systems

There are just some things that other states have that we've never had here in Minnesota. Like tolls on highways and interstates (though the Minnesota Department of Transportation apparently DID once consider such a thing a few years ago.) Or those automated traffic cameras that catch you running a red light or speeding and take a picture, allowing the state to then mail you a ticket.

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Have you ever gotten a ticket from an automated camera? We once got a bill in the mail after we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge out in San Francisco. California took out the toll booths on that stretch of Highway 101 (to keep traffic flowing, I'm guessing) and now simply takes a picture of your license plate as you drive by and then mails you a bill that gives you a certain amount of time to pay online-- or they then mail you a ticket, too.

But automated speed cameras *are* now here in Minnesota

Thanks to a bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2024 (that would be Minnesota Statute 169.147 in case you're curious), a speed camera pilot program was legalized here in the Bold North, authorized to run from Aug. 1, 2025, to July 31, 2029  And now, the first camera is already online, in Mendota Heights.

The city of Mendota Heights has the details:

The Mendota Heights Police Department has entered into a four-year pilot program through the State of Minnesota, which allows for the use of one speed safety camera within the City to monitor speed, track violations and potentially issue citations.

Specifically, Mendota Heights says its lone speed safety camera is located in the 500 Block of Marie Avenue and is monitoring eastbound traffic. The 30-day warning period started this week, and police say the goal is to issue very few warnings and even fewer $40 citations after the warning period ends in a month.

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Here's how the Mendota Heights Speed Safety Camera works

This Fox 9-TV story said that the Mendota Heights system will give out warnings the first time cameras catch a driver at more than 10 mph above the speed limit. After that, fines will be $40 per ticket and $80 if you’re caught driving over 20 mph faster than the limit-- but they won't appear on your driving record.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis plans to roll out several intersections with those cameras on them in September, as well.

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