Star Tribune
No snow emergency in the cities, despite the biggest snowfall of the season. Why?
It looked more like winter in the Twin Cities on Wednesday night and Thursday morning than it did in all of December and January, as the metro area saw the season’s largest snowfall overnight. With temperatures expected to remain below freezing heading into the weekend, it appears winter has finally arrived.
Yet public works officials in Minneapolis and St. Paul decided Thursday against declaring snow emergencies. That’s because conditions are ripe for the snow that’s already on the ground to melt before it becomes too troublesome for drivers, officials in both cities said. And even though Thursday’s forecast high is well below freezing, clear skies mean the sun’s heating the pavement to about 45 degrees.
“Because of pavement temperatures and car traffic, all of the streets are either clear or on their way to getting clear,” St. Paul Public Works Director Sean Kershaw said.
The lack of snow this season has also given public works crews in Minneapolis and St. Paul an opportunity to test new street clearing strategies in response to residents’ evolving commuting routines and as climate change affects winter weather patterns in the Twin Cities.
The 6 to 7 inches that fell overnight in the Twin Cities ended the longest January thaw in recent history and made for a slower-than-usual commute as drivers navigated slush-covered roads. The State Patrol responded to several hundred spinouts and crashes from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday. Still, many metro-area residents were elated on social media as the snowfall marked the first real sign of winter after months of balmy temperatures and dismal accumulation.
Here are five things to know about how city leaders decide whether to declare snow emergencies — and how this winter is different from others.
Do Minneapolis and St. Paul residents have to move their cars?
Nope! Parking restrictions only take effect when officials declare a snow emergency. When they do, it kickstarts a sequence of events that keeps plows off residential streets for hours. Both cities require residents to move their vehicles by 9 p.m., which means that’s the earliest that public works departments and their contractors can begin clearing those roads.
“The bottom line is that by not calling a snow emergency, we’re getting into the residential streets a day earlier,” Kershaw said.
Public works officials in both cities opted Thursday to have plow drivers clear the center lanes throughout the day, and salt the roads as needed.
Joe Paumen, Minneapolis’ transportation, maintenance and repair director, said that deciding whether to declare a snow emergency is something of a balancing act.
“We always ask ourselves: Is it going to be more of a hassle to ask residents to move their cars, versus the benefit we can provide?” he said.
What about snowbanks trapping my vehicle in place?
There’s no more snow in the forecast for the week, which means there’s no risk of snowbanks building up in parking lanes and on sidewalks. Public works officials in St. Paul and Minneapolis say the lack of accumulation has also given them an opportunity to test new plowing routes and techniques since residents in both cities have changed the way they use urban roadways in recent years.
Snow emergency rules originated when urbanites used arterial roads and highways more than they do now. City leaders say they’re looking to change which roads get priority as remote work has taken root and more people live closer to the downtown core in both cities.
“People want us to get into residential streets more quickly,” Kershaw said. “Our traditional snow emergency model has needed updating for some time.”
Where does climate change fit into the equation?
Temperatures well below freezing typically produce light and fluffy snowflakes. But those flakes have become wetter and heavier as winters have gradually warmed. The cities have also seen more rain in January and February, Kershaw said.
That means ice has become more prevalent on roads and sidewalks. Sometimes, it’s because snow melts during the day as temperatures creep above freezing and then drop overnight.
“It’s really a nightmare to clean,” Kershaw said. “It just didn’t snow like that 30 years ago. We’re testing our strategies based on changing snow and climate, and changing expectations.”
Paumen said officials in Minneapolis also keep abreast of changing patterns before adjusting their approach.
“Each snowstorm has been different,” he said. “If we notice long-term trends in the weather, say if it’s getting warmer, we’re always looking to right-size our fleet and techniques to adapt to that.
“But we never make adjustments based on one year.”
What should I keep in my car?
This week’s snowfall was somewhat surprising; initial forecasts had the Twin Cities on track to get about 4 inches at most. With that in mind, it’s never a bad idea to keep a winter kit in the car. Those caches should include a blanket, warm clothes, gloves, flashlight, nonperishable snacks and water.
Drivers should also check fluid levels, tire pressure and battery strength before heading out. As for navigating snowy roads, remember: Drive like Grandma is in the passenger seat wearing a new dress and holding a crockpot full of gravy.
Do I have to shovel my sidewalk?
Yes. Both cities require property owners to clear their sidewalks, even if a snow emergency isn’t declared. If you need help choosing the right shovel, we’ve got a guide for that.
Anti-police brutality activists interrupted a Minneapolis City Council meeting Thursday to call for Police Chief Brian O’Hara’s firing, saying his department failed a Black man who begged police for help for months, to no avail, before he was finally shot in the neck by his white neighbor.
John Sawchak, 54, is charged with shooting Davis Moturi, 34, even though three warrants had been issued for his arrest in connection with threats to Moturi and other neighbors.
Activists showed up at the council meeting and asked for time to talk about the case. Instead, the council recessed and activists took the podium and castigated the city for failing Black people, even as state and federal officials are forcing the police department into court-sanctioned monitoring because of past civil rights violations.
Nekima Levy Armstrong, founder of the Racial Justice Network, said O’Hara needs to be held accountable.
“This is not the first time instance where the community has raised concerns about his poor judgment, poor leadership, blaming the community and excuses. It’s completely unacceptable for him to get away with it,” she said. “How many Black people’s doors have they kicked in for less?”
On Thursday the council voted to request the city auditor review the city’s involvement in and response to the matters between Moturi and Sawchak.
Mayor Jacob Frey released a statement in response saying he supports the council’s call for an independent review of the case, but O’Hara “will continue to be the Minneapolis police chief.”
Protesters also questioned why the public hadn’t heard from Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette, who called a news conference within hours to say he’s not going to fire O’Hara and the city leadership supports him.
A Girl Scout from Troop 58068 told the Woodbury City Council recently that they should allow backyard chickens in the city: They cheer people up, she said.
It turned out that chickens were on an upcoming agenda and, perhaps pushed a bit by the scout’s lobbying, the Woodbury City Council at their next meeting passed a new ordinance allowing for backyard hens.
The new ordinance went into effect on Oct. 23, the night of the council meeting, and will allow people who live on property zoned R-2, a “rural estate” district, to have backyard chickens. A typical city lot is zoned R-4 and those areas still cannot have chickens, the council said.
The city has received requests “here and there” for the last several years about backyard chickens, City Council Member Andrea Date said.
Backyard chickens come have home to roost — and never leave — in a host of other Minnesota cities that allow them, from Hopkins to Thief River Falls. It’s long been allowed in both St. Paul and Minneapolis, and new cities started approving backyard coops during the pandemic, when interest spiked.
In Woodbury, it wasn’t until the question was included on the city’s biannual survey that city staff knew how people felt. The survey found less support for chickens on a typical city lot — just 13% of respondents said they strongly approve of the idea while 43% percent strongly disapproved — but a majority approved of backyard chickens on lots of 1 acre or more.
The city’s rules until recently only allowed chickens on “rural estate” properties of five or more acres.
The new ordinance allows up to six hens, but no roosters, on property less than four acres that meets the zoning requirements. Larger properties can have an additional two chickens per acre above four acres. The ordinance also sets a height limit for chicken coops of 7 feet. No license or permit is required in Woodbury for backyard chickens.
Star Tribune
Anonymous donor pays overdue bill for Fergus Falls home where town’s first Black resident lived
A $10,000 overdue special assessment bill threatening tax forfeiture of a historic Fergus Falls home was paid off this week thanks to an anonymous donor.
Prince Albert Honeycutt lived at 612 Summit Avenue East, renamed Honeycutt Memorial Drive in 2021. Not only was Honeycutt the town’s first Black resident — settling there in 1872 from Tennessee — he was the state’s first Black professional baseball player, first Black firefighter and first Black mayoral candidate.
He was an early pioneer and prominent businessman who owned a barbershop in town. Missy Hermes, with the Otter Tail County Historical Society, said Honeycutt and his wife were likely the first Black people in Minnesota to testify in a capital murder trial of a man who was convicted and hanged in Fergus Falls.
“In other places, you would never have a Black person testifying against a white person, especially a woman, too, before women could vote even,” Hermes said. “Obviously he was respected enough.”
Nancy Ann and Prince Albert Honeycutt with their children inside the now-historic Honeycutt house in 1914. Photo from the collections of the Otter Tail County Historical Society.
When dozens of people from Kentucky moved to Fergus Falls in April 1898, known as “the first 85,” Honeycutt helped integrate them into the community.
He died in 1924 at age 71 and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Fergus Falls.
Up until 2016, several owners lived in the Honeycutt home. But the city bought and sold the house to nonprofit Flowingbrook Ministry for $1 to take over the tax-exempt property and operate the ministry.
Ministry founder Lynette Higgins-Orr, who previously lived in Fergus Falls, moved to Florida several years ago and little activity has been going on in the historic home since. But she said there are plans to make it into a museum.
