House committee OKs measure honoring fallen officer, soldier

It was a piece of debris in the middle of U.S. Highway 12 that drew Wayzata police officer William Matthews out of his squad car and onto the roadway last fall. It was a run-of-the-mill call from which he never returned.

The veteran officer was fatally struck by an inattentive motorist along that busy suburban stretch on Sept. 8 last year. Now local officials hope state lawmakers will remember the late-husband, father and nine-year member of the Wayzata Police Department by renaming a stretch of that highway in his honor.

The House Transportation and Regional Governance Policy Committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would rename a portion of Highway 12 as “Officer Bill Matthews Memorial Highway.” The bill would authorize the placement of memorial signs and specifies that funds must come from non-state sources.

HF2739, sponsored by Rep. Jerry Hertaus (R-Greenfield), now goes to the House Transportation Finance Committee. A companion, SF2484 sponsored by Sen. Paul Anderson (R-Plymouth), awaits action by the Senate Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.

Wayzata Police Chief Mike Risvold said Matthews “exemplified what it meant” to be a father, husband, friend and police officer.

“He was one of the best,” Risvold said.

The committee also approved HF2908, sponsored by Rep. Anna Wills (R-Rosemount), that would designate a bridge on U.S. Highway 52 at County Road 42 in Dakota County as the “Warrant Officer Dennis A. Groth Memorial Bridge.”

A native of Rosemount, Groth was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot who was killed in 1968 at the age of 21 while serving in Vietnam.

The bill now goes to the House Transportation Finance Committee. A companion, SF2567 sponsored by Sen. Greg Clausen (DFL-Apple Valley), awaits action by the Senate Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.