Last fall, on a quiet stretch of rural road south of the Twin Cities, Courtney Norgaard’s life split in two. Her husband and life partner, Joe Norgaard, was out doing survey work when a driver hit and killed him. In an instant, their two young sons lost their father, and Courtney was left staring at a traffic ticket that she says feels wildly out of step with the devastation it represents: careless driving.
What happened on the road
On Sept. 8, 2025, 44-year-old surveyor Joseph T. Norgaard was working near Texas Avenue and 230th Street East in New Market Township when he was struck and killed. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner listed his cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. The driver, a 58-year-old Lonsdale man later identified in reporting as Nicholas Steven Scherer, stopped at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
After months of investigation, the motorist received a citation for careless driving. According to the Scott County Sheriff’s Office and reporting by the Star Tribune, authorities do not believe impairment played a role. The decision to issue a careless driving ticket was later reported by CBS News Minnesota.
Widow pushing for change
Courtney, who shared two young boys with Joe, has since turned grief into a public campaign. She is urging lawmakers and the broader community to treat crashes involving roadside workers as serious crimes, not just routine traffic matters.
"One split second can change everything," she told reporters, describing both the suddenness of the crash and the long tail of loss that followed. Her message taps into a broader frustration among families and work-zone safety advocates over how these cases are charged and punished. For Courtney, the careless driving ticket feels badly mismatched with the outcome for her family, according to CBS News Minnesota.
What the law currently says
Minnesota law already requires drivers to slow down or move over for certain vehicles that are stopped or working on or near the roadway. Minn. Stat. §169.18 spells out the “move over” rules for passing emergency, maintenance, tow and other authorized vehicles. At the same time, the state’s careless and reckless driving rules are set out in Minn. Stat. §169.13.
Under that statute, careless driving is a misdemeanor. Reckless driving that results in great bodily harm or death can be prosecuted as a gross misdemeanor. Those definitions and penalties provide the framework prosecutors, investigators and courts use when they respond to crashes that injure or kill roadside workers. The full statutory language is available on the state’s Revisor site: Minn. Stat. §169.18, Minn. Stat. §169.13.
Why advocates say change is needed
Work zones remain some of the most dangerous places on the highway system. National clearinghouse data show hundreds of work-zone deaths every year, and a significant share of worker fatalities involve vehicles striking people on foot who are doing their jobs near live traffic.
Advocates argue that clearer, tougher penalties, combined with real enforcement of existing rules like move-over laws and work-zone speed limits, could nudge drivers to take these areas more seriously. Courtney’s push slots into a broader call for policy changes and public-awareness efforts aimed at keeping crews safer, whether they are on high-speed rural stretches or busy urban arterials. For national context, see figures from the Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse.
Next steps and community response
Courtney says she plans to sit down with lawmakers and safety officials to talk through potential changes to penalties and enforcement. So far, no specific bill directly tied to Joe’s case has been reported.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, community members created a fundraiser to help the family cover urgent expenses, and local outlets highlighted the memorial efforts and details of the collision. Coverage and official notices remain the primary way to monitor whether prosecutors consider additional charges or whether legislators pick up proposals sparked by this tragedy. Bring Me The News and other local reporting have followed the family’s fundraiser and statements from the sheriff’s office.
Legal implications
Right now, a careless driving citation sits at the misdemeanor level under Minnesota law, and prosecutors say any charging decision must track with the evidence crash investigators collect. Elevating a case to a gross misdemeanor or felony requires proof that the conduct meets the stricter statutory standard for reckless behavior or includes other criminal elements.
Any changes that advocates seek, such as work-zone-specific offenses or higher penalties, would have to go through the Minnesota Legislature and withstand legal review. For those who want to read the exact definitions and penalty structure, the statutory text is available at Minn. Stat. §169.13.
