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Fentanyl in Minnesota: Sen. Klobuchar, Hennepin Co. Sheriff Witt highlight death prevention efforts

Sen. Klobuchar, Hennepin County Sheriff Witt talk fentanyl death prevention efforts
Sen. Klobuchar, Hennepin County Sheriff Witt talk fentanyl death prevention efforts 04:35

MINNETONKA, Minn. — Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt and other leaders held a news conference Tuesday to discuss efforts to keep Minnesotans safe from fentanyl.

The two leaders spoke alongside advocates and families who have been directly impacted by the drug in Minnetonka.

RELATED: The families left behind from Minnesota's fentanyl crisis

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Sheriff Dawanna Witt and Sen. Amy Klobuchar WCCO

In Hennepin County alone, fentanyl takes the life of one person every day, according to Sheriff Dawanna Witt. She also says the amount of fentanyl still being taken off the streets is overwhelming.

"This is an unbelievable large problem right now. For the sheriff's office alone, seizing enough fentanyl in the first six months of this year to potentially kill every person in Hennepin County, and that's just one agency," Witt said.

To help combat the crisis, the sheriff's office has become the first in the state to offer naloxone training to the community.

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