Culver school bus driver sentenced to jail day, probation for DWI

A Culver school bus driver who was stopped with 18 children aboard has been sentenced to one day in prison and two years of supervised probation after a DWI conviction that put school transportation safety under a hard local spotlight.

Anthony Israelson was found guilty on two DWI charges after the September 2024 incident, when St. Louis County sheriff’s deputies took him off a bus route in the South Ridge School area. Court records and later reporting said the sentence also includes 120 days of electronic home monitoring, a $500 fine due April 24, and credit for one day already served.

The case started with a tip just after midnight on Sept. 4, 2024, when a concerned citizen contacted the sheriff’s office after learning Israelson had been drinking and might not be sober by the time his morning route began. Deputies reached him at home around 6 a.m.; Israelson told them he was not working that day, but the St. Louis County School District later confirmed he had started his route. Deputies then found the bus on Independence Road north of Seville Road and stopped it without incident. The criminal complaint said he had been drinking at a bar in Brookston before the stop. WDIO later reported a preliminary blood alcohol content of 0.161.

That number matters because Minnesota treats commercial drivers differently from ordinary motorists. State law sets the alcohol limit at 0.04 for commercial motor vehicles, a standard that applies to school buses and leaves far less room for impairment than the private-driving limit. Minnesota law also adds school-bus-specific administrative penalties for DWI offenses involving someone driving, operating or in physical control of a school bus, meaning the impact of a conviction can extend beyond jail, probation and fines to a driver’s ability to keep working.

For parents in St. Louis County, the case reaches beyond one driver and one route. A school bus is not just another vehicle on the road; it is a moving responsibility entrusted with children, and the county’s own timeline shows how quickly a public tip, a district confirmation and a roadside stop came together to prevent a more dangerous outcome. The sentence closes the criminal case for now, but the larger test remains whether school transportation oversight, employer monitoring and removal procedures are strong enough to catch warning signs before children are ever put at risk.