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.
DULUTH – The Minnesota and Wisconsin transportation departments will make upgrades to the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge in the summer of 2025, in preparation for the structure to become the premiere route between this city and Superior during reconstruction of the Blatnik Bridge.
Built in 1961, the Blatnik Bridge carries 33,000 vehicles per day along Interstate 535 and Hwy. 53. It will be entirely rebuilt, starting in 2027, with the help of $1 billion in federal funding announced earlier this year. MnDOT and WisDOT are splitting the remaining costs of the project, about $4 million each.
According to MnDOT, projects on the Bong Bridge will include spot painting, concrete surface repairs to the bridge abutments, concrete sealer on the deck, replacing rubber strip seal membranes on the main span’s joints and replacing light poles on the bridge and its points of entry. It’s expected to take two months, transportation officials said during a recent meeting at the Superior Public Library.
During this time there will be occasional lane closures, detours at the off-ramps, and for about three weeks the sidewalk path alongside the bridge will be closed.
The Bong Bridge, which crosses the St. Louis River, opened to traffic in 1985 and is the lesser-used of the two bridges. Officials said they want to keep maintenance to a minimum on the span during the Blatnik project, which is expected to take four years.
Red Wing will celebrate the grand opening of its first permanent set of pickleball courts next week with an “inaugural play” on the six courts at Colvill Park on the banks of the Mississippi, between a couple of marinas and next to the aquatic center.
Among the first to get to play on the new courts will be David Anderson, who brought pickleball to the local YMCA in 2008, before the nationwide pickleball craze took hold, and Denny Yecke, at 92 the oldest pickleball player in Red Wing.
The inaugural play begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday, with a rain date of the next day. Afterward will be food and celebration at the Colvill Park Courtyard building.
Tim Sletten, the city’s former police chief, discovered America’s fastest-growing sport a decade ago after he retired. With fellow members of the Red Wing Pickleball Group, he’d play indoors at the local YMCA or outdoors at a local school, on courts made for other sports. But they didn’t have a permanent place, so they approached the city about building one.
When a city feasibility study came up with a high cost, about $350,000, Sletten’s group got together to raise money.
The courts are even opening ahead of schedule, originally set for 2025.
REDWOOD FALLS, MINN. – A truck crashing into a school bus left nine with minor injuries Wednesday morning in rural Redwood County, a statement from the Redwood County Sheriff’s office said.
The bus driver, serving the Wabasso Public School District, failed to yield when entering the intersection of County Road 7 and 280th Street, the statement said.
Deputies received word of the crash around 8:15 a.m. and identified the bus driver as Edward Aslesen, 72, of Milroy.
The nine injured passengers on the bus were transported to local hospitals, the statement said.
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