The president of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce is facing a new set of drunken-driving charges after police reportedly found him slumped behind the wheel of a running car at a Taco Bell drive-through early Friday. It is the second DWI-related case involving Matthew Baumgartner since he took the chamber’s top job.
Police Found Baumgartner Slumped In A Running Car
Baumgartner, 42, was found in the driver’s seat during a welfare check at a Duluth Taco Bell, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune. Officers reported smelling alcohol, observing slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, and finding several alcohol containers, including an empty shot-sized bottle in the center console. He allegedly refused field sobriety tests and spent the weekend in the St. Louis County Jail.
He is charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, refusing to take a chemical test and possessing an open bottle in his vehicle. The first two counts are gross misdemeanors, and the chamber said in a statement quoted by The Minnesota Star Tribune that it was still learning the complete details and would not comment further for now.
The Arrest Follows A 2022 DWI Conviction
Baumgartner previously pleaded guilty to second-degree DWI after a 2022 incident in which police found him nodding off in a Nissan Pathfinder after it crashed through a downtown parking-ramp gate. His blood alcohol concentration was reported at .295, more than three times Minnesota’s legal limit, according to the Duluth News Tribune.
He avoided jail through a stayed sentence, probation and use of an ignition-interlock device. He also told the newspaper that he had spent time at Hazelden Betty Ford and continued outpatient treatment and therapy after the 2022 arrest.
Baumgartner Has Led The Chamber Since 2021
Baumgartner became chamber president in July 2021 after serving on its board beginning in 2016. The Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce described him at the time as a longtime Grandma’s Restaurant Co. executive and an experienced regional business leader.
The latest charges put renewed attention on the leader of an organization that advocates for Duluth-area businesses, while leaving his professional status unresolved. Baumgartner did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the Star Tribune.
Minnesota Treats Chemical-Test Refusal As A Crime
Minnesota law makes refusing to submit to a chemical test a crime, and third-degree DWI is classified as a gross misdemeanor under the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. The new case remains at the charging stage, and the allegations have not been resolved in court.
