Icy conditions blanket much of the area, slow things down Tuesday
By Rae KrugerThis wasn't a big blast, but more of an icy grip.
Tuesday's ice, sleet and eventual snow stalled some traffic, including semi-trucks on area highways and roads and slowed all traffic. Even the members of the Minnesota Vikings were stopped by Tuesday's weather.
Some delays or stops were only for Tuesday morning, but the afternoon or evening commute may have meant a return back to slick roads later in the day.
Madi Rappe commutes from Ivanhoe to work in Marshall.
The commute "was absolutely terrible," Rappe said. "It was very icy."
A typical 25 minute trip took 45 minutes, Rappe said.
She wasn't looking forward to the commute home, because as of about 2:15 p.m., she learned "nothing had been done to the road in front of my house."
Semi-truck driver Kenny Dold of Marshall spent more than two hours on the side of Minnesota Highway 23 Tuesday morning as he waited for conditions to improve.
His trip to Kansas started in Marshall, but was stalled near Florence where an icy highway forced him to stop along the road.
Dold said there were at least three other semi-truck drivers who made the same decision. Dold had decided to return to Marshall, and at about 9 a.m. he started back, but it was slow-going.
At around 9:30 a.m., he said he had traveled only about two miles.
Many schools in the area were two hours late or eventually closed. Lakeview and Yellow Medicine East were two schools who held classes, but Lakeview later closed.
Marshall, RTR, Tracy Area and Lake Benton were among those that closed.
Marshall Superintendent Klint Willert said the decision to first have school two hours late and then close should have been made much earlier Tuesday.
The two-hour late announcement came around 7:23 a.m. and was followed later by canceled school.
Willert and a bus company official weren't sure of the road conditions, he said. When bus drivers reported poor paved road conditions, the decisions were made, Willert said.
A temperature a degree or two higher might have meant school could open on time because ice would melt, Willert said. That makes a closing or late start decision more difficult than if the wind and snow are factors, he said.
The process will be reviewed and improved, he said. Willert said he understands the lateness of the calls may have caused some problems for families, but in the end, it was best to still close school. "We didn't want students here and get into a situation where we couldn't get them home," Willert said.
The conditions also changed the plans of the Minnesota Vikings, who were to appear in Marshall on Tuesday. Viking linebackers Chad Greenway and Ben Leber and owner Mark Wilf were scheduled to be in Marshall on Tuesday at the middle school and a community luncheon.
Both events are expected to be rescheduled.
