Letter- Big sleuth for $8 fee

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Dear Editor,

Last May, my brother who lives and works in Norway and is a Norwegian citizen was visiting me in the Hudson area. We went kayaking the Kinnickinnic River. As I have done many times we left one vehicle at the County Road F intersection. I dutifully submitted the fee for a daily permit. There were no pens or pencils provided so we simply deposited the cash and left the sticker half on our rented vehicle dashboard. When we completed our trip we were surprised to find a citation on the vehicle. We did not give it much thought, thinking that once the DNR opened the fee box that they would find our payment in full and there would be peace in the kingdom.

Enter the DNR three months later. Through their diligent investigative work they were able to track down my brother’s name and Norway address by researching rental car records in Minnesota. They were also able to determine my work phone number -- Great sleuthing work! Today I received a third phone call from the DNR informing me that if they did not receive their payment that an arrest warrant was going to be issued. I asked what is the difference between a resident license that I paid (since I am a resident) and an out of state permit. The difference is $8! Now I can understand that the DNR officer saw a rental vehicle with Minnesota plates and had to proceed on the assumption that we were non-residents. However, the honest answer is that I am a Wisconsin resident and we paid in full the required resident fees. I wonder how much the DNR has already spent on their investigation and long distance phone calls to me and how much will it cost for Wisconsin to now issue an arrest warrant for $8?

Geir Friisoe, Houlton

Tags: opinion, letters, outdoors