"GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. -- Officials in Minnesota have shut down state highways in south-central and southwestern parts of the state due to blowing snow. This includes southbound Interstate 35 between Albert Lea and the Iowa border. Interstate 90 from Albert Lea to the South Dakota border is also closed.
Governor Tim Pawlenty activated the Minnesota National Guard to help motorists in that region. The National Guard Armories in Olivia, Marshall, and St. James are open for stranded travelers.
As of 10 p.m. Monday night, 156 stranded travelers are staying at the armories and other shelters in southern Minnesota.
Authorities recommend that motorists stay off the roads until MnDOT plows clear them. The Minnesota State Patrol will determine when roads are safe for travel.
Many state offices were closed in the region and workers dismissed early.
About 100 students are spending the night at the high school in Westbrook because school officials say the blizzard has made it unsafe to send them home.
The students live in rural southwestern Minnesota and can't get home due to blowing snow and closed roads.
Westbrook Principal Bill Richards says the school has plans for when the weather makes the area roads impassable, but it hasn't used them since the mid-80s.
He says the students are safe and their parents have been notified. The school is warm and has plenty of food and a local hospital is providing any needed medications.
He says the students will sleep on wrestling mats and on donated sleeping bags and blankets.
Thief River Falls School District in Pennington County was among those that called off classes Monday.
Pennington County sheriff's dispatcher David Carlson says heavy, wet snow this past weekend was "like blowing applesauce around," but lighter snow combined with gusting winds in "the 30 mile per hour range" reduced visibility Monday.
City officials in Duluth asked residents to stay home as heavy snow fell in the city.
City spokeswoman Amy Norris says if drivers keep the roadways clear it will make plowing more effective. She says it's essential to get the streets as clear of snow as possible, with colder temperatures in the forecast that could freeze snow and ice to the asphalt."
"Monday's blizzard across southern and western Minnesota activated an online survey of the public's responses to winter storm warnings. The survey, a joint effort of St. Cloud State University and the National Weather Service and now in its third season, is available at tinyurl.com/y9hx9r2. It's active for 72 hours after the expiration of a storm warning."
"..The snow was expected to taper off Monday night, but the weather service was forecasting wind chills of nearly 20 below zero to develop in southwestern Minnesota and continue into Tuesday morning.
Earlier Monday, officials closed state highways in south-central and southwestern parts of the state due to the storm. Some snowplows were taken off the roads.
Minnesota National Guard
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty today activated the Minnesota National Guard to assist counties in southern and west-central Minnesota with sheltering and other support. The National Guard armories in Olivia, Marshall, and St. James are open for any stranded travelers. Rock County also requested a vehicle for locating and rescuing stranded motorists.
There are a totaly of 156 people in shelters...
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