Placement of campaign signs and other unauthorized objects in state highway rights of way is prohibited under Minnesota State Statute 160.27, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. In addition, campaign signs may not be placed on private property outside of the right of way limits without landowner consent.
Highway rights of way include the driving lanes, inside and outside shoulders, ditches and sight corners at intersections.
MnDOT crews will remove any unlawfully placed signs and impound them at one of its local maintenance truck stations. Violation of the law is a misdemeanor. Civil penalties also may apply if the placement of such material contributes to a motor vehicle crash and injures a person or damages a motor vehicle that runs off the road.
In addition, the Minnesota Outdoor Advertising Control Act (Minnesota State Statute 173.15) prohibits erecting advertising devices on public utility poles, trees and shrubs, and painting or drawing on rocks or natural features.
For information regarding the proper placement of campaign signs or where to find signs that have been removed, contact MnDOT at 218-828‑5700 or 320-223‑6500. See also www.dot.state.mn.us/govrel/rw_signs.html.
Comments (3)
Add commentBe careful who you let put a sign in your yard .....
While I was out working in my back yard one day , a guy wandered up to me and introduced himself as Jim Demgen running for reelection as a Cass County Commish.
He asked if he could put a sign in my front yard ,where he always put one before a house was built there. Without knowing (at that point) who/what that guy was ,I said sure why not assuming he would stick a 3 ft sq sign in the ground.
Imagine my surprise when I walked around to the front of the house 3 hrs later to find that he had used a post hole digger to bury 2 eight ft 4 X 4s in the ground with a 4 ft by 8 ft campaign sign.
Vote thumbs down for the win!
Vote thumbs down for the win!