MnDOT Observes Workers Memorial Day

While the traditional Memorial Day holiday won't take place until May 30th this year, Thursday, April 28th is another Memorial Day-- one the Minnesota Department of Transportation is observing.

April 28th is Workers Memorial Day, the day that MnDOT sets aside each year to remember and recognize those workers killed or injured while at work. According to MnDOT website, "MnDOT commemorates the day with 10 seconds of silence to honor those MnDOT employees and contract workers who have been injured or killed on the job."

While the day has been recognized by several state and national industry groups and unions dating back to 1989, Governor Mark Dayton officially proclaimed April 28th, 2016 as Workers Memorial Day here in Minnesota.

There is a permanent Workers Memorial at the MnDOT headquarters in St. Paul, that "honors those who lost their lives while working to construct and maintain highway projects across the state of Minnesota," the MnDOT site said.

Locally, MnDOT District 6 will mark the occasion with a ceremony at its headquarters along Highway-52 here in Rochester. And with road construction season upon us again, it's another good reminder for all of us to slow down in construction zones, so MnDOT doesn't have to add another name to its list of fallen workers.