Inside This Issue

• Toys For Tots

• FMCSA To Ask White House To Clear

Split Berth Pilot Program

• Free TIM Training at AT Expo

• ELD Rollout Starts in December

• OSHA and Towing & Recovery

• New Minnesota Licensing System’s

Problems Continue

• No Spare In Almost 33% of 2017 Cars

• MPTA Hosts Light Duty Tow School

• MPCA Expects $200K in Grant Funding to

Upgrade Diesels

• Is Your Business Missing Out on New Hire

Tax Credits

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e M i n n e s o t a P r o f e s s i o n a l T o w i n g A s s o c i a t i o n

MPTA hosts 2-Day Heavy- Duty Tow School

Featuring

WreckMaster’s Kurt Wilson

On September 19th & 20th, the MPTA hosted their two-day Heavy

Duty Tow school with Kurt Wilson of WreckMaster instructing with

support from MPTA Board Directors. Students were in for a well -

educated day. Eighteen students attended the two-day Heavy- Duty

Tow School to get a better feel for what our industry has to offer.

Although the school gives you great “Hands on” learning, it can on-

ly prepare you for the “real thing!”

Teaching the students’ the basics and advanced lessons of hooking

up tractor-trailers and properly securing vehicles for transport gave

these students an excellent opportunity to get basic knowledge of

the heavy duty side of the business.

Collins Bros. Towing, Burda’s Towing, Twin Cities Transport and

Mark’s towing sponsored the event providing many vehicles and the

use of their equipment and vehicles to demonstrate on. The students

did not disappoint.

Newsbreak

(continued on page 5)

MPTA Board of Directors

MPTA contact information:

2886 Middle Street

Little Canada, MN 55117

Phone: 651-487-2231

800-627-6782

Fax: 651-487-2447

Email: admin@mnprotow.org

If you would like to make a

contribution to help with the legislative

efforts, please send your donations to:

MPTA

2886 Middle Street

Little Canada, MN 55117

PRESIDENT

Brett Letourneau

Citywide Service Corp.

9309 83rd Ave. N.

Brooklyn Park, MN 55445

763-424-4900

‘16-’18

Lance Burda

Burdas Towing

PO Box 249

Rogers, MN 55374

763-428-9911

‘17-’19

SECRETARY/TREASURER

Ron Feist

Feist Automotive

1875 N. Lilac Dr.

Golden Valley, MN 55422

763-544-5512

‘15-’17

Joe Lomsdal

Aggressive Towing

2636 16th Ave So

Moorhead, MN 56560

218-287-2344

‘15-’17

Lonnie Krackow

Borkowski Towing & Salvage

PO Box 868

Winona, MN 55987

507-452-9073

‘17-’19

Kyle Siewert

Siewert’s Towing

3424 North Service Dr

Red Wing, MN 55066

651-388-9163

‘16-’18

DIRECTORS:

Jenn Pearson

Twin Cities Wrecker Sales

1301 Jackson St

St. Paul, MN 55117

651-488-4210

‘17-’19

LOBBYIST

Rob Leighton

Nolan, Thompson, & Leighton

952-405-7171

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Lance Klatt

2886 Middle Street

Little Canada, MN 55117

651-487-2231

LEGAL COUNSEL

Randy Thompson

Nolan, Thompson, & Leighton

952-405-7171

OFFICE STAFF

Norie Hennen

Nikki Wakefield

2886 Middle Street

Little Canada, MN 55117

651-487-2231

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 2

VICE - PRESIDENT

Phil Collins

Collins Brothers Towing, Inc.

PO Box 405

Elk River, MN 55330

763-241-9177

‘15-’17

Ron Gardas Jr

Twin Cities Transport & Recovery

3760 Flowerfield Rd

Blaine, MN 55014

763-784-7501

‘16-’18

MPTA Newsbreak ~ July 2017 3

It’s that time of the year again. As all of us are thankful for what we have, let’s take time to think about

some of the people who are less unfortunate this time of the Season. This year, the MPTA Board of Directors

are raising money and collecting toys for the Toys for Tots program. The Board is not asking for much just

a few dollars and some toys that our members and staff can donate.

The Board of Directors and any MPTA member may attend the live guest appearance at Kare11. We tenta-

tively have a spot on the Saturday, December 16th morning Newscast. We will post updated information on

the MPTA website or please feel free to call the MPTA office. The MPTA will donate the toys and do check

presentation on behalf of all of the MPTA members. We will also use this time to remind drivers to move

over for all Tow trucks and emergency vehicles this holiday Season.

Please feel free to send monetary donations to the MPTA (write Toys for Tots on the memo line) and/or un-

wrapped toys to:

MPTA

2886 Middle Street

Little Canada, MN 55117

Representatives from the MPTA can also pick up toys and/ or check from your place of business also. Please

call the MPTA office at 651-487-2231 to schedule a time.

FMCSA TO ASK WHITE HOUSE TO CLEAR SPLIT

BERTH PILOT PROGRAM

"The U.S. DOT announced Friday it’s moving forward with a plan to institute a pilot program to study the feasibility

of altering hours of service regulations to allow truckers to split their off-duty sleeper berth time into segments, ra-

ther than having to take 10 straight hours off duty or use the limited 8-2 split. The agency also announced that 240

drivers have been selected to participate in the program.

FMCSA said Friday it plans to file its research plan with the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, who

must approve the study before the agency proceeds. The move is the latest step toward potential revision of hours of

service regs to add long-wanted flexibility for truck operators.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in June issued a proposal for the split sleeper study. The agency’s

plan is to study the 240 drivers for three months. Participating drivers will be able to split their 10-hour off-duty pe-

riod into segments, such as 5-5, 6-4 or 7-3. Otherwise, drivers will operate as they normally would.

Researchers will seek to determine whether such splits adversely affect operator fatigue levels or crash instances.

The agency has partnered with Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute and Washington State University to conduct

the study.

The study seeks to gather data from ELDs, monitoring systems like video recorders, roadside inspections, wrist

actigraphy (studying total sleep time and wakefulness), psychomotor vigilance tests taken in cab, subjective sleepi-

ness ratings as noted by drivers and sleep logs. Researchers will then study the data and make conclusions regarding

the positive or negative outcomes of drivers using split sleeper berth options.

The agency is accepting public comments for 30 days on its announcement to send its research request to the OMB.

©2017 OVERDRIVE MAGAZINE

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 4

Free TIM Training at AT Expo

Two sessions of free National Traffic Incident Management training will be offered at the American Towman Exposi-

tion in Baltimore, Maryland, on Nov. 17 and Nov. 19.

TIM training combats the dangers of careless drivers by positioning vehicles and signs strategically to protect those on

the scene. Towmen taking the class will not only learn how to help clear scenes faster, but also keep responders as

safe as possible.

Developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, the National TIM Responder

Training Program was developed by responders for responders. It is designed to promote consistent training of all re-

sponders to achieve three objectives: responder safety; safe, quick clearance; and prompt, reliable, inter-operable com-

munications.

Two sessions of the TIM Responder Training course will be offered at the American Towman Exposition: one on Fri-

day, Nov. 17 from 8 a.m.-12 p.m., and one on Sunday, Nov. 19 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Source : American Towman

(continued from front page)

They were promised to get hands on training while getting dirty- just like every MPTA Sponsored tow school.

Every school the MPTA conducts, all of us learn more from the instructors as well as from our students. Special

thanks to Kurt Wilson of WreckMaster and the MPTA Board Directors for their time and knowledge and of course

the Gardas family and the great people at MNDOT for allowing us to use their facility.

Together we continue to support our industry but more importantly, our professionalism. I would say when one

looks at the time, money and personal commitment, at the end of the day, it’s all well worth it!

Hope to see you or your employees at the next MPTA endorsed tow school!

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 5

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 6

ELD Rollout Starts in December

On December 18 all commercial truck drivers will be required to use an electronic logging device (ELD) to monitor

their hours, as mandated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Industry groups such as the Owner Operator Independent Drive Association (OOIDA) sought to push the launch of

ELDs down the road, while others such as the American Trucking Associations (ATA) were all for it. The ATA won

out.

But as of press time, 60 percent of commercial fleets were still monitoring hours of service (HOS) with paper logs,

according to a C.J. Driscoll & Associates’ survey of 529 fleet operators. That is the case even though companies us-

ing ELDs report positive results.

“Only 6 percent of fleets using a GPS management system were not satisfied,” according to the survey.

Towing companies with drivers who are required to maintain a record of duty status (RODS) need to comply with

the ELD mandate, states towing attorney Nick Porto, who co-writes the “Legaleze” column in Tow Times (see Tow

Times, August 2016, for more details).

ELDs are aimed at making road travel safer. “ELDs allow drivers to keep their eyes focused on the road,” according

to Porto, “ELDs cannot be manipulated or incorrectly logged.” Plus, ELDs reduce paperwork and the time that law

enforcement needs to slog through paperwork.

The FMCSA was scheduled to begin ELD training its approximately 13,000 commercial vehicle inspectors late Oc-

tober or early November.

Here is an edited transcript of a FleetOwner webinar on digital-age devices with Andy Blair, owner, DOT Safety

Checkups, who talked about ELDs; and Brad Penneau, safety program consultant with Telogis, part of Verizon, who

focused on electronic inspections.

Andy Blair, DOT Safety Checkups

December 18 is the big day unless you have an exemption. If you have an approved ELD, you are

good to go. You can continue to use an automatic onboard recording device (AOBRD, which are

grandfathered in) until December 2019. You have two years to finally get with the program.

There are several exemptions:

• The easiest one is the short-haul exemption - If you do not exceed eight hours in any 30-day period, you’re exempt under

the ‘rolling 30– day rule.’ But companies must have a record of your hours - a timecard, timesheet.

• 1999 and older vehicles– Maybe some of you are holding onto your trucks for these reasons. Power train is the determin-

ing factor. They’re going to go by the VIN number to determine the model year of the truck. If you’re not able to determine

– you have a 2000 truck with 1999 engine– they will flag the information on that inspection for further investigation. Be

prepared if you’re challenged. It’s going to go by the VIN. Don’t always assume that date of manufacture is exempt.

• Tow-away, Drive-away– The rule here is “wheels on the ground,’ such as an RV trailer. (‘The vehicle being driven is the

commodity being delivered,’ states the FMCSA.)

Think ahead if you’re going to take advantage of one of the three exemptions. Drivers should be able to back it up with docu-

ments, receipts, bill of lading.

ELD Enforcement

The good thing is they’re not going with a hard enforcement. They will not declare a violation until April 2019 to give drivers

time to get acclimated to inspections. If there are some violations, its still going to show on inspection reports. Citations

still can be written. If you’re required to have a log and have nothing at all, you will be put out of service.

(continued on next page)

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 7

Brad Penneau, Telogis

If you look at driver inspections, the top driver-related violations are driver behavior, hours of service. You

will see a pattern developing here: false log entries, eight-hour rule violations.

But we’re beginning to see an interesting trend with eight-hour violations. They are decreasing. We’re begin-

ning to see the effects of early adoption of ELDs. What is the effect of fleet technology? It’s taking the driver error factor out

of the equation. We’re taking that human factor out when it comes to maximum driving time.

HOS Violations Are Down

These numbers are certifiable. ELDs are having a positive effect on HOS violations. There is no doubt that HOS violations

will continue to decline in the next four to five years when we transition to a 100 percent ELD environment.

As for inspections, there are two scenarios to consider: Inspectors will inspect the same number of vehicles at a higher level of

scrutiny or there will be a greater number of inspections as HOS decrease. Inspectors will be spending more time on the vehi-

cle.

More Connected than Ever

FMCSA will continue to explore the use of fleet technology, vehicle connectivity and preventive diagnostics to increase safety

and compliance. Bear in mind that every vehicle coming off the line is fully equipped to be connected. The roadside inspection

process will continue to evolve as we continue to embrace technology. Make no mistake, the ELD mandate is the first step in

that.

Embrace Technology

If you have an older vehicle and are not already using connectivity in the vehicle, you’re not taking advantage of the benefits

that come with that technology.

Embrace technology– use what you already have. The main point here is, you want to drive down accountability and drive

down consistent driver behavior that will help alleviate vehicle violations.

How do we get 1,000 drivers to behave a certain way?

Bottom line is, you have unique individual behavior.

You may have a driver who will do a 15-minute inspection or you

may have a driver who does a 10-secod inspection.

But we’re moving to standardized electronics.

Driving Down Accountability

There may be a way to develop a process (app) and download it

to the driver’s device. He must check off and send the inspection

once it’s done. We can literally see if the driver actually walked

around the vehicle. Not only that , but we can tell if he walked

around the vehicle in 10 seconds or 15 minutes.

Driving accountability down to the driver level by measuring

driver deviation is something to consider.

Source: Towtimes.com - November 2017

(continued from previous page)

OSHA and Towing & Recovery

Mike James here from eComply. Over the last couple of months, I've been asked for clarification on whether or not the towing

industry must maintain OSHA 300 and 300A Reports. The short answer is "Yes". The long answer is still yes, but let's provide

some clarification.

Before we go too far, let's look at the code: NAICS Code 488410 for Motor Vehicle Towing. You should write this number

down. This is the guiding number that all clarification for the OSHA reporting requirements flows from. You may remember

from the old days the SIC 7549. After consultation with many of my fellow safety professionals throughout the country, we

have only been able to conclude that you must maintain OSHA 300 and 300A Reports. The exact words from for determining

the rule effective since January 1, 2015 are provide below:

Who is exempt under the new rule? There are two classes of employers that are partially exempt from routinely keeping injury and illness records.

•First, "employers with ten or fewer employees at all times during the previous calendar year are exempt from routinely keeping

OSHA injury and illness records". OSHA's revised record-keeping regulation maintains this exemption. •Second, "establishments in certain low-hazard industries are also partially exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and

illness records".

Starting on January 1, 2015, there will be a new list of industries that will be partially exempt from keeping these OSHA

records. Establishments located in states under Federal OSHA jurisdiction must begin to comply with the new require-

ments on January 1, 2015. Establishments located in states that operate their own safety and health programs should

check with their state plan for the implementation date of the new requirements.

Working with my colleague and friend Brian Riker, we have been unable to confirm any of the comments that the industry is in

anyway exempt from OSHA. The guidance for compliance comes as a lengthy answer to the comment:

Under the OSH Act, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace. OSHA's mission is to assure safe

and healthful workplaces by setting and enforcing standards, and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.

Employers must comply with all applicable OSHA standards. Employers must also comply with the General Duty Clause of the

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, which requires employers to keep their workplace free of serious recognized haz-

ards.

It is unclear how the concept of the Towing and Recovery Industry being exempt came to be, but it will be important as you go

forward to recognize and incorporate the requirements of OSHA within your business. Compliance with OSHA has become

fairly refined. Fundamentally, you must (1) provide training for your people, (2) perform a number of inspections such as a pre-

use of a forklift, and (3) maintain a prescribed set of written plans that state how you are going to provide a safe and healthful

workplace.

Folks, it is the opinion of this writer that OSHA is required, but the number one take away from this article is that there are

some subjects out there such as FMCSA that are dramatically more complicated.

The Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc.® (TRAA) has suggested that I, and my team, start to write some arti-

cles to provide guidance and clarification regarding compliance with OSHA. In following contributions, we will begin to an-

swer questions that you might have. If you have any specific questions that need to be addressed in future articles, please feel

free to contact me or the TRAA Office. We will make it a priority to publish the answer to the best of our ability in upcoming

TRAA publications. eComply

Michael R James

600 Round Rock West Dr., Ste 201

Round Rock, TX 78681

Telephone: +1 512-269-0108

FAX: +1 512-582-8464

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 8

Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc.®

700 12th St. NW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20005

Phone/Fax: (888) 392-9300

www.traaonline.com

MPTA Newsbreak ~ August 2017 9

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 10

NEW MINNESOTA LICENSING SYSTEM'S

PROBLEMS CONTINUE

Frustration is high on both sides of the counter as problems continue to plague Minnesota's new vehicle licensing system

Many Minnesotans hoping to renew vehicle tabs, get new plates or transfer a title were again left waiting in recent weeks

as the state’s new computer system for vehicle registration continues to be plagued by glitches and slowdowns that have

occasionally stretched on for hours.

On Thursday, operators of the state’s 174 licensing offices watched as the system shut down in the middle of the after-

noon and remained unusable until 7 p.m. Frustrated license office workers had to send customers away and endure long

waits on hold as they tried to get help from the state. More system slowdowns were reported nearly every day this week

and the week before.

State officials overseeing the rollout of the $97 million Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS) say

they are making necessary improvements and place some of the blame on offices operating with outdated technology. But

nearly 16 weeks after MNLARS was introduced — and with $79 million already spent — it’s still far from business as

usual for licensing offices around the state.

“We’ve had to turn people away for fear the system slowdown will affect reporting and money transfers,” said Jeff Le-

narz, deputy registrar of the licensing office in St. Paul. “Offices are shutting their doors during the shutdowns, offices are

turning away everything except tab renewals. Every office is definitely affected.”

The switch to MNLARS from the 30-year-old system the state formerly used for vehicle and driver licensing is an in-

house operation at Minnesota IT Services (MNIT), the state’s technology department. Ten years in the works, the July

rollout of the new vehicle licensing system was intended as a first major test in a multiphase project.

Officials from both MNIT and the Department of Public Safety (DPS), which oversees vehicle licensing, faced a wave of

complaints from the state-appointed deputy registrars who operate licensing offices through counties and cities or as pri-

vate businesses. State lawmakers from both parties offered an earful, and Republicans set up a website to field com-

plaints.

In the past 10 days, the website received more than 80 comments — considerably more than the 60 comments

logged in the first three weeks of October. Offices in Roseville, Virginia, Minneapolis and White Bear Lake were

among the many locations that registered complaints.

At the licensing office in Brainerd, deputy registrar Donny Vosen said his staff has been frozen or locked out of the state

system for hours at a time. Specialty plate transfers have been on hold for months at his and other offices. Complaints roll

in from people claiming to have mailed in tab renewals and subsequently had their checks cashed, but weeks later are still

waiting for the tabs.

Two of Vosen’s 13 employees quit, he said — including one who walked out in the middle of a shift, sobbing. He said

two others have been dealing with health problems brought on by stress.

“We’ve met with the [Department of Public Safety] commissioner, and yeah, they feel our pain,” Vosen said. “They say

they think this system has potential, which doesn’t mean crap to the person who needs a title.”

A handful of license office workers around the state said the most recent system outages have been particularly frustrat-

ing.

(continued on top of next page)

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 11

Jennifer Wagenius, the property records and taxpayer services director in Washington County, said her county-run of-

fice is pouring in extra money to keep up with the ongoing problems. It’s likely not sustainable, she said.

“We’ve been working on overtime and working on temporary staff in some instances,” Wagenius said. “But most often

we’re using overtime dollars to fill in the gaps right now.”

MNIT and DPS officials maintain that many of the problems are isolated to one or a few offices. MNIT spokes-

woman Cambray Crozier noted that deputy registrar offices are independently run, and that certain offices experi-

enced site-specific problems because they rely on limited bandwidth and out-of-date internet browsers.

Crozier said some wider system outages were related to fixes for specific problems, like an update for offices that use

Internet Explorer for web browsing. In a letter to state lawmakers, MNIT said the Thursday outage was caused by a

“system operator” who accidentally altered a MNLARS database during routine maintenance.

DPS spokesman Bruce Gordon said the state has continued to manage tens of thousands of transactions, and that most

system shutdowns have been planned and limited to a few minutes. Since MNLARS’ July debut, he said more than 1.6

million vehicle tabs have been processed.

DPS officials said they believe delays in issuing tabs are largely isolated events, and that most people who renew online

or by mail receive their tabs within one to two weeks. The backlog for titles is longer; the state is now processing paper-

work filed in August.

But in the licensing offices, deputy registrars say they’re focused on different numbers: overtime hours, the time cus-

tomers spend waiting in line, the growing number of official “workarounds” staff must use to complete basic transac-

tions.

“We’re really just kind of stuck,” said Lenarz in the St. Paul office. “As users of the state system, we have no control

over the state slowdown. We basically just have to weather the storm and improvise.”

Source: Erin Golden, Star Tribune

(continued from previous page)

No Spare in Almost 33% of 2017 Cars

According to a study by AAA, almost one-third of 2017 model vehicles don't come with a spare tire. "A lot of

times, you find vehicles that are not equipped at all with a spare tire," said JD Cooper, a tower with AAA Cen-

tral Penn. AAA says many automakers are ditching the spare tire because of EPA fuel efficiency standards.

"Automakers are trying to make the vehicles lighter, which in turn makes them more fuel efficient. Instead of

having a spare tire, higher-end cars will have a run-flat tire," said Doni Lee Spiegel, public relations manager

with AAA Central Penn. "Once you don't have that spare tire, you're pretty much looking at the limitations of

a tow," Cooper said as he replaced a tire.

Source : American Towman

MPTA Hosts Light Duty Tow School

On Wednesday, October 18th, the MPTA supported our towing operators in a light duty tow school for beginners and

dispatchers. MPTA board directors taught the early classroom portion of the school with new information and safety

statistics as well as the everyday basics of getting ready for each towers shift. With new towing employees, it all starts

with the basic -essentials. Students were taught everything from size of chains, straps, pressure points, and even how to

better prepare yourself mentally and professionally.

With over 25 students in attendance, MPTA board directors hosted several training sessions featuring basic hook ups,

use of dollies, scales and working load limits and experiencing use of chains and straps getting a feel for what our indus-

try has to offer. Although the school gives you a great “Hands on” experience, it can only prepare you for the “real

thing!” Teaching student’s the basics and advanced lessons of hooking up from the streets /parking lots while learning

the “Do’s and Do not’s” of our industry.

MPTA Board Directors sponsored the event providing many vehicles and the use of their equipment. The students did

not disappoint. They were promised to get hands on training while getting dirty- just like every MPTA sponsored tow

school. Every school the MPTA conducts, all of us learn more from the instructors as well as from our students. Special

thanks to the Twin Cities Wrecker Sales for donating equipment and Twin Cities Transport & Recovery for the salvaged

vehicles. Thank you to the MPTA Board Directors for their time and knowledge and MNDOT for allowing us to use

their facility. Together we continue to support our industry but more importantly, our professionalism. I would say

when one looks at the time, money and personal commitment, at the end of the day, it’s all well worth it!

Hope to see you or your employees at the next MPTA endorsed tow school!

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 12

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 13

Member Directory Albert Lea Allen’s Tow & Travel

507-373-3551

Anoka North Star Towing

763-427-4160

Austin Midtown Towing

507-433-7374

Baxter Collins Brothers Towing

Of St. Cloud, Inc.

218-822-5525

Big Lake Bob’s Towing

763-262-8697

Blackduck Bogart’s Towing

218-835-4548

Blaine Twin Cities Transport

& Recovery

763-784-7501

Dan’s Complete Auto Care

763-784-8668

Frovik’s Towing

763-786-9220

Blooming Prairie

Darrick’s Preferred Auto

507-583-9994

Bloomington Chief’s Towing, Inc.

952-888-2201

Brooklyn Park Cardinal Towing

763-535-1202

Citywide Service

763-424-4900

Burnsville Captain Towing

952-856-2901

Cannon Falls Siewert’s Towing

507-263-4791

Coon Rapids Corky’s Towing

612-382-3858

Highway 10 Mobil

763-757-6789

Detroit Lakes DL Towing

218-847-6362

Aggressive Towing & Recovery

218-287-2344

Duluth Dukes Towing

218-722-8885

Mrs. Mac’s Towing

218-393-7377

East End Towing

218-349-3991

Eagan Mark’s Towing

651-454-1533

Eden Valley Jack’s Towing

320-453-6560

Edina Walser Automotive Group

952-345-4003

Elk River Collins Brothers Towing

763-241-9177

Bob’s Towing of Elk River

763-441-3666

Excelsior Williams Towing

952-446-9650

Faribault Glenn’s Service LLC

507-331-6605

Fergus Falls Beyer Towing

218-205-6137

Forest Lake Dan’s Towing

654-464-5551

Harold’s Towing & Recovery

651-464-5313

Frazee

Daggett Wrecker Service, Inc.

763-544-5512

Golden Valley Feist Automotive

763-544-5512

Hutchinson Modern Towing

320-587-4603

Inver Grove Heights

South East Towing

651-451-9721

Ironton

AutoSmith Service Group

1-218-545-5715

Jordan Wrecker Services, Inc

612-330-0013

Kasson T&K Towing Service

507-250-4573

Lakeville Marek’s Towing & Repair

952-469-3182

Loretto Loretto Towing

763-479-1943

Mankato Affordable Towing

507-388-8697

All American Towing

507-345-5005

Maple Grove

Chase Towing & Transport

763-315-3995

Marsahll

Pulver Towing

507-828-5720

Meadowlands

Mrs. Mac’s North

218-393-7377

Medina Kelly’s Wrecker Services

763-473-0558

Melrose Shaggy’s Towing

320-256-7855

Minneapolis Blaine Brothers

763-780-5130

Miller Towing

612-827-5591

Schmit Towing

763-253-1568

Minnetonka Kustom Karriers

952-938-4680

Moorhead Aggressive Towing & Recovery

218-287-2344

Ed’s Towing Service

218-233-7740

New Brighton Freeway Towing

651-633-5525

Statewide Towing

651-633-4262

New Prague Johnson Towing, Inc.

952-758-3852

Oakdale Twin Cities Transport

& Recovery

651-770-0152

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 14

Member Directory Owatonna Dean’s Westside Service

507-455-1950

Sweet Towing & Repair

507-451-3424

Plymouth Plymouth Automotive

763-544-3202

Frankies Towing Co

763-595-0321

Ramsey Bee Line Towing

763-568-0858

Red Wing Midway Auto

651-388-8296

Siewerts Garage

651-388-9163

Rochester CSC Towing

507-289-8344

Moody’s Towing & Auto Repair

507-289-2955

Rochester Towing, LLC

507-288-7317

Pulver Towing

507-282-3851

T&K Towing Service

507-250-4573

Rogers Burdas Towing

763-428-9911

Sauk Centre Centre Towing Inc.

320-352-1500

Savage Allen’s Service Inc.

952-894-1000

Scanlon Blaine Brothers

218-879-6681

Shakopee Shakopee Towing, Inc.

952-445-0030

Spring Lake Park Citywide Service

763-432-4550

St. Anthony Twin Cities Transport

& Recovery

612-789-4245

St. Cloud Collins Brothers Towing

Of St. Cloud, Inc.

320-257-5525

Andy’s Towing

320-251-5691

St. Francis

Gerdin Auto, Tire & Towing

763-434-1686

St. Paul

Twin Cities Transport & Recovery

651-642-1446

Stewartville Tri-State Towing

651-439-5744

Stillwater Stillwater Towing

651-439-5744

Tyler Bruender’s Corner Mart

507-247-5587

Virginia

Armory Shell Towing & Service

218-741-6050

Waseca Bocks Service Inc.

507-835-5407

Tesch Service Center

507-835-4610

West Concord T&K Towing Service

507-250-4573

Willmar

Ed’s Service Center & Sales

320-235-5945

Winona

Borkowski Towing & Salvage

507-452-9073

Zumbrota Bergs Towing & Repair

507-732-5613

IOWA Sioux City

Meier Towing Inc

712-258-0609

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck Berg’s 24 Hour Towing

701-663-6491

SOUTH DAKOTA Big Stone

The Shop, Inc.

605-862-8215

Sioux Falls

Ace Towing Inc.

605-332-2173 WISCONSIN

Ashland

Tomlinson’s 24 Hour Towing

715-682-2717

Baldwin Day & Nite Towing, LLC

715-684-3359

Balsam Lake

Lake Services Unlimited

715-857-5753

LaCrosse

Goldbeck Towing Service

608-781-4869

Independence

Kabus Auto Body & Recovery

715-985-2252

Roberts Jerry’s Towing

715-749-4450

Superior Lake City Towing

218-722-7781

ASSOCIATE

Auto & Equipment Sales

AW Direct

Tom Welsh 608-662-3350

Tom’s Auto Sales

Ryan Tubbesing 651-482-8795

Twin Cities Wrecker Sales

Rod Pellow 651-488-4210

Zip’s Truck Equipment

Paul Rottinghaus 1-800-222-6047 Health Insurance

Haas Managed Benefits

Bill Haas 763-421-6153 Insurance

Midwest Insurance Service

John Hall 651-439-5939 Uniforms

Cintas

David Marta 763-425-6666

MPTA Newsbreak ~ November 2017 15

Is Your Business Missing Out on New Hire Tax Credits?

As a business hiring new workers, you probably consider their salary, the cost of equipment and training, and if they

will be a good fit in your enterprise; however, do you consider if they might qualify for the Work Opportunity Tax

Credit (WOTC)? This federal program, typically providing a credit of $2,400 per employee, is designed to encour-

age the hiring of individuals who fall into one of the following target groups:

Veteran– service connected disability, unemployed 6 months

Veteran– unemployed 6 months

Veteran– service connected disability, hired within 1 year of discharge

Veteran– unemployed 4 weeks

Veteran– SNAP benefit recipient

LT Family Assistance– received TANF benefits for 18 months

TANF (welfare) Recipient

SNAP (food stamps) Recipient

SSI Recipient

Vocational Rehab Referral

Designated Community Resident

Ex-Felon

LT Unemployed

Summer Youth

The best way to determine if your new hire belongs to a target group is to include IRS Form 8850 with your initial

hiring forms (I-9, W-4, etc.). This form contains questions about the groups and is specifically designed for this pur-

pose. When a new hire indicates that they belong to a target group, Form 8850 is submitted along with Form ETA

9061 to the MN DEED office for certification. These forms must be submitted within 28 days of the employee’s

start date for the credit to be claimed.

Once certification is received, the credits are claimed on your Federal tax return. The amount is dependent on the

number of hours worked, total wages paid, and target group; however, there is no limit on the number of new hires

who can qualify for the credit or the total credit dollars that can be accumulated.

In conclusion, the WOTC may be a significant way to reduce the cost of hiring new employees. To effectively uti-

lize this program, it is vital that you determine if the new hire is part of one of the target groups at or before the time

of hiring. If you would like more information about the WOTC target groups or have questions about the process of

claiming the credit, please contact Zachary Deo, CPA, at zdeo@otcpas.com or 651-483-4521.

Source: Olson Thielen Advisor, September/October 2017