Cynthia Bearhart: Mugshots of a chronic DWI offender

Burnett County Sheriff's Department

Cynthia Bearheart hits double digits on her DWIs. No celebrations are planned.

​Wisconsin has been taking some grief in the past few months for having the highest drunk driving rate in the nation -- nearly 24 percent.

But at least part of Wisconsin's problem appears to be drunk-driving Minnesotans.

Yesterday the Wisconsin State Patrol arrested Cynthia Bearheart, of Sandstone Minnesota, and charged her with her 10th drunk driving infraction.

"You see that kind of thing every now and again," says Sgt. Brett Heino. "I was just talking to Trooper Patrick Kraepke, who made the arrest, and he said he just got someone for their 11th in that same area."

The red area shows states with the most drunk driving.

​Wisconsin is cracking down on drunk driving, though. A new regime of tougher minimum sentencing went into effect last July. Under the old system, Bearhart would only have had to serve 48 hours for her tenth offense. Now if she's found guilty, she'll be looking at at least four years.

Wisconsin may have the worst drunk driving rate in the country, but Minnesotans shouldn't be smug -- we're right up there in the ten worst states ourselves. As we reported last year, one in every seven licensed Minnesota drivers has a DWI on their record.

Here's a sampling of Bearhart's booking photos over the past ten years, courtesy of the Burnett County Sheriff's Office:

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