To place an obituary in the Pioneer Press, please email the required information to [email protected]. There is no option to place obituaries through our website. For any questions, feel free to contact our obituary desk at 651-228-5263.
**General Information Required:**
– Your full name
– Address (City, State, Zip Code)
– Phone number
– Alternate phone number (if any)
**Obituary Specifications:**
– Name of Deceased
– Obituary Text
– A photo in JPEG or PDF format is preferable; TIF and other file types are also accepted. We will contact you if there are any issues with the photo.
– Preferred ad run dates
**Discounts:**
There is a discount for running the obituary more than one day, but this must be scheduled on the first run date to apply. If a photo is used, it must be included on both days to qualify for the discount. Contact us for more information.
**Policies:**
– **Verification of Death:** We require the name and phone number of the funeral home or cremation society handling the arrangements to verify the death. We must contact them during business hours.
– If the body has been donated to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program or a similar program, their phone number is necessary for verification.
– A death certificate is also acceptable in lieu of contacting a funeral home or society. Only one form of verification is necessary.
– Please allow enough time for verification, especially during limited weekend hours.
**Guestbook and Outside Websites:**
We do not allow references to other media sources, guestbooks, or obituaries placed elsewhere when publishing in print and online. However, a funeral home website or family email contact may be included. Contact us with questions about this.
**Obituary Process:**
Once your submission is complete, we will send a proof for your review prior to publication. The proof will include pricing and scheduled publication dates. Please review carefully and notify us of any changes or errors before the deadlines. After publication, we are not responsible for any errors.
Changes to an online obituary can be managed through the obituary desk—please call us with any questions.
**Payment Procedure:**
Pre-payment is required before publication by the specified deadline. After receiving your proof and approving the content, please call 651-228-5263 to provide payment information.
Payment options:
– Credit Card (by phone only due to PCI regulations)
– EFT (Provide routing and account numbers by phone)
– Cash (Accepted at our front counter Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM)
**Rates:**
– Minimum charge: $162 for the first 10 lines.
– Each additional line beyond 10: $12.20 per line.
– Ads under 10 lines are charged the minimum of $162.
– Second run date: $8.20 per line starting from the first line.
– Photo charges: $125 per photo per day.
Example: First run with 20 lines costs $164; two photos over two days result in 4 photo charges totaling $500.
**Deadlines:**
Please adhere to the deadline hours below to ensure your obituary runs on the requested date:
– Hours and deadlines are strict with no exceptions.
– Contact obituary desk for specific deadline times.
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### MEMORIAM (Non-Obituary) Requests
Memoriam submissions are remembrances of loved ones who have passed and have different rates than obituaries. For more information or to submit a memoriam ad, please call 651-228-5280 or email [email protected].
Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (closed weekends and holidays).
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## News: Dakota County Ends Same-Day Standard Driver’s License Issuance Pilot Program in Lakeville
If you’ve hoped to leave the Department of Motor Vehicles with a new license in hand, prepare to hold onto your paperwork for a few weeks longer. Dakota County will pull out of the pilot program at the Lakeville license center that offered same-day issuance of standard Minnesota driver’s licenses. The last day for this service in Lakeville is October 31. However, the program will continue to operate at the license center in Moorhead.
The pilot program began in October 2022 after a State Legislature appropriation, addressing common complaints from former residents of other states: “If North Dakota can get this right, why can’t we?” However, the program reportedly encountered several issues.
According to the Department of Public Safety’s Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS), more than 74,000 IDs were issued at the Lakeville and Moorhead centers. Yet, nearly 40 percent of those cardholders eventually replaced their IDs with traditional cards or let the IDs expire.
In January 2024, DVS recommended against expanding the pilot program to other locations. A major concern was the difference in quality between in-person IDs and centrally issued ones.
Many customers faced problems when presenting the in-person IDs for everyday usage such as ordering drinks at bars, renting cars, banking, or airport security. At least three individuals reported having their IDs rejected by Transportation Security Administration officers.
DVS Director Pong Xiong explained that centrally issued IDs are produced at a much larger facility, allowing higher-quality printing compared to over-the-counter licenses. Despite attempts to match quality, differences in appearance and laminate texture remained.
These discrepancies became problematic as IDs are expected to be universally accepted in an environment where fraudulent identification is a concern.
DVS outlined the distinguishing features of over-the-counter IDs on its website:
– The ghost image of the cardholder’s photo appears in color instead of black and white.
– The card lacks the canoeist image at the bottom.
– Date of birth appears only once on the card.
– Issue dates cannot be earlier than October 1, 2022.
– The shoreline background appears vertically on under-21 cards rather than at the bottom.
“If you look at the cards, it’s fairly obvious they aren’t exactly the same,” Xiong said.
The same-day pilot program does not issue more secure credentials such as Real ID, enhanced driver’s licenses, or commercial driver’s licenses. Since May 7, travelers must use a certified Real ID driver’s license or identification to board commercial flights.
When DVS presented its 2024 findings to the Legislature, they noted only seven states currently offer over-the-counter credentialing, a decline of over 50 percent since 2014.
Xiong noted that returning to centrally issued IDs is expected, as such issuance allows the state time to verify address information, certify accuracy, and better prevent fraud — factors not feasible with instant issuance.
While waiting weeks for a license can frustrate customers, Xiong emphasized the importance of quality and security for valid identification.
The pilot program currently has no set end date, and participation decisions are made by local service centers. Attempts to reach the Clay County DMV about future plans for Moorhead’s program were not returned by press time.
https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/27/lakeville-center-opts-out-of-same-day-drivers-license-pilot-program/
