A number of safety improvements are currently being implemented at the Del-Tone/Luth shooting range in Haven Township, according to Haven Town Board Chairman Jeff Schlingmann.
Wednesday afternoon Schlingmann said that a new baffle system is being installed on a 100-yard shooting lane at the site, and other improvements are underway to the earthworks on the sides and back of the range. Haven Township currently has the local zoning authority for the area in which the range operates.
June 18, Schlingmann had issued an order to the shooting range under the township land use ordinances and MN Statutes Chapter 87A which directed the operation to “cease using the 100 yard bay, Bay 1, until you have satisfied the Sherburne County Sheriff and the Haven Township Zoning Administrator that the 100-yard bay, Bay One, is safe and that bullets will not leave the range.”
The order was in response to a letter to the Haven Town Board from Sherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott regarding an investigation of a May 22 incident in which a stray bullet struck a private home which ended with Sheriff Brott “officially requesting the township board through its zoning authority to IMMEDIATELY shut down Del-Tone’s 100 yard bay due to safety concerns and investigate the condition of the shooting bay to ensure the safety measures are put in place to prevent bullets from leaving the range.”
The incident was the subject of a heated exchange at the June 15 regular meeting of the Haven Town Board, at which several residents criticized the township’s handling of the incident and pressed for a further investigation of the incident.
In a June 18 letter to the Haven board, Sheriff Brott advised them that the investigation into the incident had determined that a rifle being used in Bay 1 at the range around the time of the incident was not the source of the bullet which impacted the private home, according to an examination conducted by a forensics expert at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Brott went on to state that “even without concrete evidence that the errant bullet came from Del-Tone shooting range, the investigation still reveled that the revised safety feature in Bay 1 poses a substantial safety concern.”
Brott also described his meeting at the shooting range with Schlingmann and Range Manager Jeff Hoppes, at which he received a copy of the township shut-down order and was informed by Hoppes that the range had contracted with an excavator to increase side and impact berms at the site, but that the project had been delayed by the excavator.
The letter concluded with the following comment: “The township’s shutdown order seems to imply that my office must determine what safety improvements will be required for Bay 1 and when Bay 1 may be reopened to shooting activities. I discussed with Schlingmann that my office cannot make the determination as to what improvements must be made to fully contain bullets on the range, or when Bay 1 should be reopened by the township. Schlingmann and I ultimately agreed Del-Tone would need to develop a plan that would satisfy an NRA (National Rifle Association) inspector that ensures that unintentional discharges will not leave Bay 1, implement the plan, have the functionality of the improvements inspected by an NRA range expert, and then have Haven Township zoning authority agree with the finding.”
In his letter of response to Schlingmann, shooting range owner Randy Luth stated the 100-yard rifle bay in question, according to a 2013 NRA Range Report, “meets or exceeds the NRA Range Source Book, which therefore meets MN State Law 87A.”
Luth also stated the range had cooperated with the sheriff’s department in the investigation, providing access to video footage from the shooting range, access to the shooter registration forms for the time of the alleged incident, access to range lessee firearms manufacturer DPMS LLC and interview access to range employees and customers.
Further regarding the 100 yard range, Luth stated that the shooting range had built a barrier wall as an addition to prevent any accidental discharges from leaving the 100-yard range, and will do the same on the 200-yard bay in the near future. An NRA range specialist was also scheduled to visit the site this week, and a copy of his report will be forwarded to the township board as quickly as possible.
Luth concluded his letter by asking the township board to allow the re-opening of the 100-yard bay as soon as possible, “pending any additional inspections by your board
