Star Tribune
Minnesota workers brave cold, blizzard conditions
Ayane Jarso walked to work at 5:30 a.m. Friday and almost turned around.
“It felt like little shards of glass were hitting my face,” she said of her early-morning slog.
But people need their coffee — and with the early-morning temperature at 12 below, they needed it more than ever. So Jarso, a barista at a Caribou Coffee on W. 7th Street in St. Paul, kept on walking and opened the shop.
In Edina, Tyler Clendenen set out on another long, cold day delivering holiday mail for the U.S. Postal Service.
“I’ve got hand warmers, two pairs of gloves and two pairs of sweatpants,” he said. The key, is to “keep moving. Keep your legs moving, keep your heart pumping.”
While many Minnesotans curled up inside as the holiday weekend approached, Jarso and Clendenen were among the many who were on the job in this winter’s most bitter cold so far, with gusty winds and blowing snow hobbling swaths of the state.
“I love Minnesota,” said Guy Beaulieu, shifting boxes and bags of donations in the alley behind Arc’s Value Village in Richfield. “I haven’t even broken out my cold-weather gear yet.”
In Duluth, the Lake Superior Zoo was open, despite wind gusts up to 50 mph and a 25-below windchill. Zookeepers were kept company by hardy visitors and a menagerie of arctic blast-loving creatures, said Lizzy Larson, director of animal management.
Taj, the Amur tiger and Kiran, the snow leopard, both hail from cold climates and “absolutely love this weather,” Larson said.
And when they’ve had enough, the animals can retreat to indoor areas or heated rocks to warm their paws. But zookeepers were cycling through hand and toe warmers.
“And we might move ourselves a little faster,” Larson said.
In the Twin Cities, Metro Transit maintained 99% of its service operations Friday, according to spokesman Drew Kerr. “It’s been a typical day for us; we’ve not reduced service at all,” he said.
On the Route 63 bus, driver Judy Jackson expertly maneuvered her rig along Grand Avenue among darting pedestrians, idling UPS trucks, motorists attempting to parallel park and pavement as slick as newly waxed linoleum.
“The roads aren’t great,” said Jackson. “The smallest incline sets you back.”
Ryan Haugen of Good Stuff Moving was hustling a hand truck down the sidewalk on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul.
“On a day like this, you almost feel like nobody should be working,” he said. “But you have to make a living.”
The North Shore’s Lutsen Mountain operated just one run Friday, on the leeward side. At least 200 people skied, said General Manager Jim Vick, taking advantage of the 7 feet of snow the mountain has gotten already this season. Lift operators and groomers worked shorter shifts to account for the numbing wind.
“We have a number of guests, this is maybe the one time a year they go skiing,” Vick said. “So we are able to operate and they are out.”
State troopers were among those who didn’t get a work break amid the subzero temps and blizzard-like conditions. Many were patrolling roads across the state as drifting snow worsened visibility.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, we’re kind of used to this type of weather,” said Sgt. Troy Christianson, whose morning commute from Preston to Rochester took 15 minutes longer than usual. “We’re bundled up pretty good to stay warm, of course.”
Hennepin Healthcare workers continued to serve patients at clinics and the hospital. Since Sunday, the emergency department had treated 45 patients with “cold weather exposure concerns, including frostbite and hypothermia,” spokeswoman Christine Hill said.
“Our staff are committed to making sure they get in to care for patients,” she said. “We’re so appreciative of anyone getting to work in this challenging weather.”
And some things are worth the trip, no matter the weather.
At Perrier Wine & Liquors on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue, clerk Yuki Chavez said business had been steady. Wine has been a brisk seller, as well as liquor for holiday gifts and tiny bottles of spirits for stocking stuffers.
“Despite the weather, people will still make the trek to the liquor store,” she said.
Staff writers Jana Hollingsworth, Janet Moore and Ryan Faircloth contributed to this report.
After months of maintenance problems and safety concerns in downtown St. Paul’s Lowry Apartments, city officials condemned the building, forcing dozens of tenants to abruptly relocate to hotels this week.
On Monday afternoon, city staff responded to a plumbing leak in the 11-story building at 345 Wabasha St. N. Officials reported significant damage and signs of vandalism, including copper wire theft that left electrical systems exposed. The leak also raised concerns about mold.
To make repairs, the building’s water must be shut off — a move that would leave tenants without boiler heat and fire sprinklers, Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher said in a Tuesday email to state Rep. Maria Isa Pérez-Vega and City Council Member Rebecca Noecker, who represent the area.
After determining heat and water could not be restored quickly, Tincher wrote: “There was no other option than to conclude the building was not safe for residents to stay.”
Property manager Halverson and Blaiser Group (HBG) agreed to provide alternative housing for tenants for up to 30 days, Tincher said. City staff worked with Ramsey County’s Housing Stability team and Metro Transit to help 71 residents pack and move.
Before then, the building belonged to downtown St. Paul’s largest property owner, Madison Equities. After the January death of the company’s founder and longtime principal, Jim Crockarell, the dire state of the group’s real estate portfolio became apparent.
The Lowry Apartments, the sole property with a high concentration of low-income housing, quickly became the most troubled. Residents reported frequent break-ins, pest infestations, inoperable elevators and more, to no avail.
Star Tribune
Metro Transit allocated $12 million to boost security, cleanliness on Twin Cities light rail and buses
They will be soon. With more money to spend, Metro Transit plans to bring on 40 more this year. With their ranks growing, TRIP agents, clad in blue, have recently started covering the Metro C and D rapid transit lines between Brooklyn Center and downtown Minneapolis.
The big investment in public safety initiatives comes as Metro Transit is seeing an uptick in ridership that plunged dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been slow to recover. This year ridership has been a bright spot, the agency said.
Through October, the agency has provided 40.1 million rides, up 7% compared with the first 10 months of 2023. In September, the agency saw its highest monthly ridership in four years, averaging nearly 157,000 rides on weekdays, agency data shows.
At the same time, crime is down 8.4% during the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same time period last year, according to Metro Transit Interim Police Chief Joe Dotseth. However, problems still persist.
On Nov. 29, Sharif Darryl Walker-El, Jr., 33, was fatally shot on a Green Line train in St. Paul. Just a week earlier, a woman was shot in the leg while on the train and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Earlier this year, a robbery attempt on the Green Line in St. Paul left a passenger shot and wounded.
“Our officers are spending time on the system and sending a clear message to everyone: Crime will not be tolerated on transit,” Dotseth said. “And we will work to ensure those commit those crimes are held accountable.”
The ACLU of Minnesota has sued Otter Tail County, its sheriff and correctional officers at its jail, alleging unlawful punishment of a man known to them who has serious mental health issues.
Ramsey Kettle, 33, a member of White Earth Nation and lifelong Otter Tail County resident, was jailed in February on charges that were dropped two months later. The ACLU says that the sheriff’s office attempted to cover up the mistreatment, but a whistleblower working at the jail reported the abuse to the state. A 46-page lawsuit was filed this week in U.S. District Court of Minnesota.
“Mr. Kettle was subjected to extreme, punitive treatment in violation of his constitutional rights and standards for basic human dignity,” the ACLU said in a statement. “Otter Tail County officers, with approval of the acting jail administrator, kept Mr. Kettle locked up in solitary confinement for days without food, water, or appropriate medical and mental health care.”
Otter Tail County spokesperson Shannon Terry said in an email to the Minnesota Star Tribune that “Due to the impending litigation, Otter Tail County has no comment or statement at this time.” Terry did confirm that Kettle was released from custody April 24, when the charges were dropped.
Kettle was immediately placed in solitary confinement after he arrived at the jail Feb. 9, the lawsuit says. Jail staff didn’t assess Kettle’s poor mental health, which the ACLU says was well-documented and known to officers. The ACLU says Kettle “exhibited increasing signs of physical and mental distress” and officers allegedly “laughed at him, mocked him, and left him to suffer.”
Kettle had been booked at the jail multiple times before. In March 2022, he was convicted of making terroristic threats and sentenced to two years. On the day he was scheduled to be released from Rush City Correctional Facility after serving his full sentence, he was charged in Otter Tail with four counts of aggravated witness tampering stemming from the conviction.
“Rather than going home on February 9, 2024, as he had anticipated for nearly two years, he was transferred to Otter Tail County Jail to await trial on these new charges. The new charges were unfounded and intended solely to keep Mr. Kettle incarcerated,” the lawsuit states.
District Judge Johnathan Judd dismissed the charges as lacking foundation.
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