BURNSVILLE, Minnesota — For those in the business of snow, timing is everything. 

“If we can get open Thanksgiving week, that’s pretty ideal for us,” said Nate Birr, chief operations officer of Buck Hill in Burnsville. 

Birr said his team usually looks for consistent temperatures of 27 degrees Fahrenheit or below. 

“With the temps the way that they’re looking, fingers crossed… we’ll make snow all week long,” Birr said. 

The plan is to start snowmaking on Monday afternoon with the goal of being open on Black Friday.

Buck Hill has 70-80 permanent snow guns and another 30 or so portable ones. Three years ago, they put a brand new pump in at the top of the hill. 

“We used to have to kind of pick where we would make snow on the hill… But with the new pumps, the new water capacity, and the new guns, when we get ideal temps and we can maximize our water pressure and how much water we’re pushing through the system, we could have every snow gun on the hill going at one time,” Birr said. “In three days with temps in the teens and single digits… we can get 90% open. It might be light in a couple spots, but it’s still rideable.”

Ski areas are hoping for better weather than last year when much of Minnesota experienced the warmest winter on record. 

“Last year we spent about a month-and-a-half turning the snow guns on, turning them off,” Birr explained. “A lot of it wasn’t making new snow, it was just repairing the base that was deteriorated because of weather, and rain, and warm temps.”

“We have been at the mercy of Mother Nature, as per usual,” said Marsha Hovey, marketing director at Trollhaugen in Dresser, Wisconsin. 

Hovey said they were able to get a jumpstart on snowmaking but a one to two degree change in temperatures over the weekend forced them to temporarily shut down. 

“We’re just kind of waiting for Mother Nature to tell us when we can make it,” said Matt Boudreaux, assistant mountain manager at Trollhaugen. 

The team planned to restart snowmaking operations on Sunday night. 

Hovey said they typically plan to open the first week of November. 

“Even though we’re a little slow to start this year, we’re confident that winter will return in full force,” Hovey said. 

Trollhaugen is celebrating its 75th anniversary. 

“We need people to do their snow dances. So get dancing,” Hovey said. 

Meanwhile, Birr said about the first day of snowmaking, “It’s my favorite day… and my kids’ favorite day of the year… it’s just a really happy day.” 

For the most up-to-date information on openings, both Buck Hill and Trollhaugen will be posting updates to their social media pages. 

DALLAS — Bishop T.D. Jakes, the senior pastor of The Potter’s House in Dallas, is recovering in stable condition after experiencing a “slight health incident” after delivering a sermon Sunday, the church said in a statement. 

The Potter’s House is a non-denominational mega church located near the Dallas Baptist University campus. Jakes leads a congregation of more than 30,000 at the Potter’s House Church in Dallas. 

Along with serving as senior pastor, Jakes has advised three presidents and was a featured speaker at the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009, according to the Potter’s House website. 

Jakes received immediate medical attention after he delivered an hour-long message Sunday morning, the statement reads. 

He is in stable condition and is under the care of medical professionals, according to the church. 

“The entire Potter’s House family is grateful for the outpouring of love, prayers and support from the community,” the statement reads. “Thank you for your understanding and continued prayers.”  

The Potter’s House also has campuses in North Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas and Denver.

“The Potter’s House is consistently ranked among the largest and most influential churches in the U.S,” according to the church’s website. 

This is a developing story. WFAA will update this article with the latest.

MINNEAPOLIS — At the Field and Festival Holiday Market in Minneapolis, flavors from around the world are on display. This holiday season, Palma Delights founder and owner Alyaa Sonbol is bringing a taste of the Middle East to Minnesota.

“All of these [desserts] are based off of my background, which I’m very proud of because it brought me to thinking of this and coming up with this idea,” Sonbol said. The full-time architect and mother of two moved to the United States from Egypt at 11 years old.

Sonbol’s vendor stall is filled with a variety of vegan and gluten-free chocolate-covered desserts, which she creates in her home kitchen using various ingredients such as dates, figs and various nuts.

Working around the clock to bring her business to life, Sonbol officially created Palma Delights six months ago. “When it got to my own health, I had to figure something out for myself.”

Sonbol navigates life with an autoimmune disorder. “It is very challenging, to be honest,” she said. “I myself don’t even know what to eat sometimes.”

Knowing others suffer from the same challenges, Sonbol set out on a mission to make sweets that are safe to consume for people with auto-immune diseases. “We like to have our sweet tooth like everybody else,” she chuckled.

Palma Delights was one of 40 vendors featured at Sunday’s market. 

“For me, the most rewarding part is just to see that journey for those people, knowing that we’re providing real economic impact for not just the artists, but the whole community,” said Minneapolis Craft Market founder Hayley Matthews-Jones.

Originally from London, Matthews-Jones moved to Minnesota in 2008 and founded Minneapolis Craft Market in 2015.

“I was here for a few years and kind of looking for that weekly artist market type of outlet that is so common in London and most of Europe,” she explained. “I kind of spent a while waiting for someone else to build that, and when no one did, I figured, ‘I know what this should look like.'”

Nearly a decade later, Minneapolis Craft Market now hosts various markets around the Twin Cities. From soaps to jewelry, hats, crafts and beyond, these markets are ensuring the holiday spirit is alive in Minneapolis. “I love it,” Sonbol said. “Serving people is always a good thing for me.”