As the Twin Cities prepare for what could be one of the largest snowstorms to hit the area in years, the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis have declared snow emergencies and are asking residents to move their vehicles off streets as soon as possible.

Both cities declared snow emergencies effective at 9 p.m. Sunday but asked residents to begin moving vehicles Saturday, the mayors announced in a joint news conference Saturday afternoon in St. Paul.

“Because the forecast calls for an extreme amount of snow, please move your vehicles off night plow routes this evening if you can,” Mayor Koahly Her said. “Moving now will help you avoid becoming stuck in a snowbank, and will give our crews room to work, and make sure you have safe roads to drive on when the time comes.”

City staff at both cities have been “working tirelessly” for the past few days in preparation of the storms, Her said, which if predictions are correct, will be a historic amount of snowfall. Crews have been treating streets to prepare for the snow, she said.

To make it easier for residents to move their vehicles, both cities are offering thousands of free parking spots.

In St. Paul, the city will open the Block 19 Municipal Ramp at Jackson and E. 7th streets in downtown St. Paul for free parking. In addition, as park and recreation lots are plowed, they will also be opened for free parking, Her said. She said residents should check stpaul.gov/snow for updated information.

The mayor also warned that city snow plows will make two passes so even if it looks like plows have been on a street, they may be coming back, she said, so residents should be aware of that before returning vehicles to snow emergency routes.

“Over the past month, Minnesotans have shown again and again how we look out for each other,” Her said. “I ask you now to check on your neighbors and those who may need help. Follow the posted parking rules, and stay off the roads unless travel is essential. This is spring in Minnesota. We’re prepared and ready to respond.”

Mayor Jacob Frey said his city is doing the same.

“The real reason we call a snow emergency is so we can get the plows through,” he said. “We recognize that this may be a very significant snow event. Our snowplow drivers are in the starting blocks and they’re ready to go. For them, this is the Super Bowl. They’ve been preparing for this kind of snow event all year. And I can tell you we’re going to have every single one of them out.”

Sean Kershaw, St. Paul director of public works, said Saturday he had just received an update from the National Weather service and that the forecast continued to call for 12 to 18 inches of snow beginning Saturday night.

“It’s going to be really heavy falling at about two inches an hour overnight,” he said. “That’s a lot of snow. We could get eight inches overnight. Following the heavy snow, tomorrow, the winds will pick up, and there’ll be strong winds that declare a blizzard warning for the whole region. After that, it will get cold … We will begin plowing the streets as soon as it starts snowing. We will be out all night. We will be out all tomorrow.”

Kershaw asked for people to stay off the roads after midnight Saturday and to have vehicles moved off snow emergency routes Saturday evening.

Cars that park in the free lots won’t have to be moved until 5 p.m. Monday, he said. He advised people to check the city websites for updated information.

The city of St. Paul will not have garbage or recycling pickup on Monday, he said, and people who have pick up on Mondays should put their bins out Tuesday morning.

Tim Sexton, public works director in Minneapolis, said the amount of snow predicted from this storm might be one of the top five snow events in history.

“Remember the Dome Buster event from 2010, where the Metrodome collapsed?” he said. “That was about 17 inches of snow. So more than that is forecast, and this is late season, heavy, wet snow. So it’s going to be inconvenient. There is no way around that. But just recognize this could be a historical event.”

Cardi B praised Minneapolis for standing up to ICE.

During her Thursday show at Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Target Center venue, the Bronx hitmaker levitated above the crowd on a swing as she applauded them.

“Minneapolis, you are such a strong city. I’ve been seeing what’s going on in the news, and we wanna say thank you for your for your resilience, for your resistance,” she said to the sold-out crowd.

“I don’t know why those motherfuckers came to this state. Y’all n***as is not pussy. I don’t know why they came over here. They must not know how y’all give it up.”

Bardi has been openly critical of ICE’s immigration tactics, most recently slamming the federal agency around the start of her Little Miss Drama Tour. On the opening night of her trek in Palm Desert, she shouted out her Mexican fans and issued a warning to ICE.

“Mexicans in the building?” she said as her audience roared. “Bitch, if ICE come in here we gonna jump they asses. Bitch, I got some bear mace in the back. They ain’t taking my fans, bitch.”

When Homeland Security caught wind of her comments, the agency clapped back at her, dragging her for her past as an exotic dancer. “As long as she doesn’t drug and rob our agents, we’ll consider that an improvement over her past behavior,” the organization tweeted.

Minneapolis became a fierce adversary of ICE as more and more agents popped up in the city to deport whomever they deemed to be “illegal” immigrants. In late January, during subzero temperatures and following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, thousands took to the streets to protest ICE’s presence in the city.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Kyler Murray has been signed as the new quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, sparking mixed reactions among fans.

Vikings fans share their thoughts

What we know:

Some fans are thrilled about Murray’s potential to bring success to the team, while others remain loyal to J.J. McCarthy. Murray, who was released Wednesday by the Arizona Cardinals, has a history of playoff appearances but has yet to achieve significant postseason success.

What they’re saying:

“I’m excited. He’s a proven NFL quarterback. He’s had a lot of good seasons, some good stats. He hasn’t really put it together, and hopefully, under KOC, he does,” said Luka Lattergrass. 

Lattergrass also commented on McCarthy, saying, “No one’s rooting against him, but we all did see his play last year, his ups and downs, the roster that we had still was a 9-8 season with poor quarterback play.”

Meanwhile, Will Stein from Coon Rapids noted, “Kyler Murray has a ton of talent. He can be an extremely good quarterback if he allows himself to.”

McCarthy’s past performance

Why you should care:

The addition of Murray to the Vikings’ roster raises questions about the team’s quarterback strategy moving forward. Last season, expectations were high for McCarthy after the Vikings’ impressive 14-3 record two seasons ago with Sam Darnold.

However, McCarthy’s performance led to a 9-8 season, causing some fans to lose faith while others remained supportive.

What’s next:

Fans are eager to see how the quarterback situation unfolds during training camp. As Will Stein expressed, “I feel like it should be an open competition and training camp, whoever the coaches decide is the better fit running this offense for 2026 should get them start in September, week one.”

What they’re saying:

“Kyler Murray, if you can’t get him to watch tape himself, how is he going to mentor somebody else? Was he gonna teach him how to play Call of Duty better?” said Karl Heinrichs, known as Sir Death on social media. Heinrichs also shared, “I like the way J.J. McCarthy ended the season last year, and I’d like to see him get his shot. I’d like to see him have a chance to come back and lead this team.”

What we don’t know:

It’s still unclear who will ultimately be the starting quarterback for the Vikings in the upcoming season.