Star Tribune
Winter storm to bring rain, snow and ice to much of Minnesota
Shovels, snow blowers and ice melt — Minnesotans will need them all over the next couple of days as the first significant storm of 2023 moves into the state and drops rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow.
A winter storm warning went into effect Monday afternoon across western Minnesota and was expected to cover an area stretching from the southwestern part of the state to St. Cloud, the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin. The warning — in effect until Tuesday night — comes with the potential of 4 to 8 inches of snow in the metro area, while 6 to 10 inches could pile up across a swath of central and western Minnesota from Hutchinson to Redwood Falls to Marshall, the National Weather Service said.
The storm is not expected to be as windy or as cold as the blizzard two weeks ago, and those conditions should lead to heavier, wetter snow, according to Minnesota Department of Transportation spokeswoman Anne Meyer.
Plow crews were set to begin working around the clock in the Twin Cities starting at midnight Monday, she said.
“We’ll continue on the road working 12-hour shifts 24 hours per day until we’re back and we’re clear, and this will probably last until Thursday or Friday,” Meyer said.
Isolated pockets of a foot or more of snow are possible, with snow falling at 1 to 2 inches per hour at times Tuesday, the Weather Service said.
With temperatures on either side of freezing, rain, freezing rain and sleet is forecast to mix in with the snow and create slippery conditions.
An ice storm warning covering southern Minnesota went into effect at 6 p.m. Monday. Ice accumulation near a quarter-inch was expected in places such as Mankato, Albert Lea and Fairmont.
Many highways in southern Minnesota had icy conditions Monday night, with some having a half-mile of visibility or less, according to the state’s highway conditions website MN 511. Those variable conditions will move into the Twin Cities on Tuesday.
Meyer suggested drivers check online to see what the road conditions are ahead of time, considering they will vary a lot throughout the next couple of days.
The worst conditions statewide will be Tuesday morning and early afternoon, with winds whipping between 20 and 35 mph and creating low visibility, the Weather Service said.
“Please adjust your travel plans for Tuesday if possible,” the Weather Service warned. “Travel could be very difficult.”
The weather could affect travel into Wednesday morning, when the storm will start to wind down.
Behind the storm, calmer conditions are expected from Thursday through the weekend with sunny skies Thursday, Friday and Sunday. There is a slight chance of snow on Saturday. Highs during the period will be in the teens and 20s, the Weather Service said.
Star Tribune
Pete Hegseth is Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary: 5 things to know
As President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration comes into clearer focus, one newly announced Cabinet pick may ring a bell for several Minnesotans. Trump has tapped “Fox and Friends” host Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense.
While he’s known to most of America as a Fox News personality, here are five things we learned from the Star Tribune archives and other media reports about Hegseth:
He grew up in Forest Lake
Hegseth graduated from Forest Lake Area High School in 1999, where he played football and basketball. He went on to attend Princeton University on an ROTC scholarship, where he continued playing basketball.
Hegseth served in the Army
Hegseth joined the Army after he graduated from Princeton and served with the 101st Airborne in 2005-06, according to the Star Tribune archives. In 2005, the then-lieutenant spoke to the newspaper about the conditions of the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, where he defended the facility against criticism.
“Photographers sometimes take pictures that make it look like American soldiers are putting the detainees in dog cages,” he told Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten. “That’s very misleading.”
A year before that, three British Muslim prisoners had reported several instances of torture, forced drugging and religious persecution.
Star Tribune
Spree of Minneapolis homeless encampment shootings reignites debate on response philosophies
A wave of shootings at homeless encampments at Minneapolis in recent weeks, leaving four people dead and at least four more seriously injured, has relit a long-simmering clash between city officials and advocates over one of the city’s most vexing problems.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other city leaders say the spree of shootings and other violence associated with encampments is driven by the drug fentanyl. Advocates who regularly provide outreach to the local unhoused community say the greater focus should be directed at the fundamental causes of homelessness if the city has any hope of solving the public safety problems at the camps.
Three shootings have occurred in three south Minneapolis encampments over a span of two weeks. On Friday, a man and woman were shot in an encampment in the 2200 block of Cedar Avenue S. close to Hiawatha Avenue.
“It’s an ongoing tragedy in our city, and we are seeing gun violence play out in many, many places, and particularly neighborhoods less resourced and communities of color that are bearing that gun violence,” said John Tribbett, a service area director with the nonprofit Avivo which operates a tiny home village inside a North Loop warehouse for people experiencing homelessness.
Around 13% of all crime in the city’s Third Precinct, and 19% of that area’s gun violence, happens within 500 feet of encampments, Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in late October. He and Frey were holding a news conference close to one of the shooting scenes. At the time, Frey told reporters that crime near encampments is “not about a lack of shelter” or “even most of the time about a lack of housing.” The mayor said drug trafficking and drug use at encampments have been the largest factors.
“Is (fentanyl) the only thing? Of course not, but it is a major driver,” Frey said in an interview days after the shooting. “I think we’ve got to be honest, and we’ve got to be real about it, otherwise we’re not going to make progress on the issue.”
According to Frey, encampments can also be a site for human trafficking.
The recent shootings have rattled nearby homeowners and renters, some of whom said they have been scared to leave their homes. Quantina Jones, who lives near the site of the triple fatal shooting that happened Oct. 27 close to the train tracks on Snelling Avenue, said she would frequently find drug paraphernalia left on her property, witness public defecation and hear gunshots.
Star Tribune
Man whose murder conviction vacated after 16 years is freed, and speaks publicly for the first time
“They were my support from day one,” Barrientos-Quintana said.
Tina Rosebear, one of Mickelson’s sisters, met Barrientos-Quintana Tuesday to lend her support and agreed with the decision to set a wrongly jailed man free.
“We got justice for Edgar,” she said. “I hope any situation like this gets fully investigated so this never happens to anybody ever again You got this. I am happy for you.”
Added Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, “Nothing can give Mr. Barrientos-Quintana back those 16 years, and for that, we are so sorry. Our hearts are also with the family of Jesse Mickelson over their irreparable loss. When the criminal legal system does not function ethically, it causes significant harm.’’
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