DAKOTA COUNTY, Minn. — A stretch of county road in Dakota County now carries the name of a fallen deputy who was killed by a drunk driver nearly 28 years ago while headed home from work.
County Road 68 in Ravenna Township is now Deputy Luther Klug Highway. a tribute to the deputy whose dedication to his work would cost his life.
Klug was 36 years old on July 15, 1996, on his way home after an afternoon patrol shift for the Dakota County Sheriff's Office when he heard Hastings police dispatch a call that might require backup. After helping colleagues, Deputy Klug resumed his journey home, and was driving on Highway 316 when he was broadsided by a drunk driver who ran a stoplight at the intersection with 200th Street.
He was less than a mile away from home at the time of the crash. Klug was airlifted to the hospital, where he died on the operating table early on the morning of July 16.
On Thursday, a crowd of law enforcement professionals, local dignitaries and Klug's family gathered on the side of Highway 316 to dedicate the road to the deputy's memory. Among them was Dakota County Sheriff Joe Leko, who started with the department one year after Klug's death.
"Nearly 28 years have passed... not a day goes by that Luther is not remembered," Leko remarked. "His loss has left a hole in the lives of all those he left behind. We at the sheriff's office continue to honor and carry Luther's memory - on our walls, in our stories, how we carry ourselves every day - and in our hearts.
Sheriff Leko noted that Klug's legacy lives on, not just in memories but through a living, breathing member of his department. Jordan Klug was just four years old when his father was killed, and grew up to make law enforcement his life's work. That little boy is now Sergeant Jordan Klug of the Dakota County Sheriff's Office, who patrols the same streets his father did nearly three decades ago.
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