State lawmakers today got a progress report on how Minnesotans are doing in the effort to become REAL ID-compliant. Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington says he wants to avoid a scenario next October where “mom, dad and grandma are at the airport, waiting to get on to go down to the happiest place on earth, and they walk up and they don’t have REAL ID. That’s not going to be well received and I don’t want to see the faces of crying children who can’t get on an airplane because mom and dad waited too long to get their REAL ID.” Harrington says so far, only about 12-and-a-half percent of Minnesotans are currently REAL ID-ready and right now, only about 47-percent of Minnesotans who apply for a new driver’s license or are renewing are opting for a REAL ID. Harrington says “47% sounded really good when I looked at it on the screen initially, until I realized that what that translates to is about 19,000 Minnesotans per week, getting REAL ID.” Harrington says with 33 weeks to go until the October 1st deadline, at this rate, roughly 48-percent of Minnesotans will *not* be REAL ID-compliant, and therefore, could run into trouble–or be turned away if trying to travel by air. Director of Driver and Vehicle Services, Emma Corrie, says her commitment is to let all Minnesotans know about the deadline and she says “we are working hard and tirelessly to get the word out to not just the metro, but every corner and our partners, and an extension of us in the deputy registrars are helping us to do that.” State lawmakers are currently considering ways to help streamline the process–and cut down on a backlog of applications.