Minnesota
67 Minnesota waterways, likely more, impacted by too much de-icing salt
WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. — In the Twin Cities metro, an estimated 365,000 tons of salt is applied to our roads each year. To put that in perspective, that’s how much the Empire State Building in New York City weighs.
In fact, 67 waterways — from Lake Como to Minnehaha Creek — have made the list of Minnesota waterways damage by chloride.
Thompson Lake in West St. Paul has made the list for the past ten years.
Brook Asleson with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said 13 bodies of water have been added to the list since two years ago.
“This is a pretty big jump,” said Asleson.
While the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says that salt has impaired at least 67 waterways in our state, the actual number is believed to be higher, since only about 10% of bodies of water have been tested.
Minneapolis neighborhood associations encourage residents to use less or no salt this winter
Waterways are considered impaired when one teaspoon of salt is found within five gallons of water.
The big culprit: De-icing salts.
“De-icing salts did come up as the number one source of chloride,” said Asleson.
The problem is that chloride is toxic to fish, insects and plants. It kills the smallest insects and impacts fish reproduction and growth. Once the salt is there, it’s too late, there’s no way to remove it, either.
“While it’s not a health risk or a hazard for us, most people don’t want to drink salty tasting water,” said Asleson.
MPCA is fighting back, by educating plow drivers and other winter maintenance professionals through their Smart Saltier certification program and by educating those at home.
“We recommend that you use about one mug of salt for about 10 sidewalk squares,” said Asleson.
The key here is to only use what you need, with the hope of keeping our precious waters pristine.
“Reducing a little bit of salt can go a long way to protecting our water resources,” said Asleson.
For a list of all impaired waterways, including those impacted by chloride, click here.
Minnesota
Hughes scores in debut for Wild, who defeat Bruins for 4th straight win | NHL.com
The 26-year-old defenseman finished with three shots in 26:55 of ice time in his first game since being traded to Minnesota by the Vancouver Canucks on Friday for defenseman Zeev Buium, forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
“It’s been a whirlwind for sure,” Hughes said. “I’m just looking forward to kind of getting my feet on the ground and get with the team here and get in a day-to-day lifestyle here. But definitely the last 48 hours have been a lot, but I was excited to go play the game.”
Kirill Kaprizov had two goals and an assist, Hartman had a goal and two assists, and Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist for the Wild (19-9-5), who extended their winning streak to four games and home point streak to 12 games (10-0-2). Filip Gustavsson made 29 saves.
“The crowd was electric I think just from the … I would say warmups to the introduction and then throughout the game,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “So, it was great to see the building like that and the guys perform the way that they did. So, it was a great combo.”
Alex Steeves and Andrew Peeke scored, and Swayman made 25 saves for the Bruins (19-14-0), who had won four straight.
“They’re a very good hockey team,” Boston coach Marco Sturm said. “They’re built pretty big, they play the right way, they play pretty hard, and they go to the net really hard, too. So, that’s something I mentioned, even between periods. That’s something we have to learn. And even if teams like that, we have to learn from that, and that shows we’re not there yet, and that’s a good thing, I think.
“Do we like the end results? No, but we had our chances in the first, even in the second period, and those are the chances that you have to use, otherwise it’s going to get hard against a team like that.”
Jared Spurgeon put Minnesota ahead 1-0 at 10:11 of the first period with a wrist shot through traffic as Swayman was screened by Marcus Johansson on a power play.
Minnesota
Perennial candidate Kendall Qualls wins Minnesota GOP gubernatorial straw poll
Minnesota
Minnesota weather: How cold it got on Saturday
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Temperatures dropped into the negative Saturday, with the coldest temperatures in the morning.
How cold it got in Minnesota Saturday
By the numbers:
Here is how cold the temperatures got in Minnesota:
- Hinckley: -20 degrees
- Bemidji: -20 degrees
- Ely: -18 degrees
- Brainerd: -18 degrees
- Detroit Lakes: -18 degrees
- Hibbing: -17 degrees
- International Falls: -17 degrees
- Duluth: -16 degrees
- Alexandria: -12 degrees
- St. Cloud: -12 degrees
- Cambridge: -11 degrees
- Grand Marais: -10 degrees
- Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -6 degrees
- Red Wing: -6 degrees
- Morris: -6 degrees
- Hutchinson: -5 degrees
- Rochester: -5 degrees
- Mankato: -3 degrees
- Windom: 0 degrees
- Marshall: 0 degrees
Here are the lowest wind chills across Minnesota from Saturday:
- Bemidji: -37 degrees
- Ely: -35 degrees
- Duluth: -34 degrees
- Brainerd: -32 degrees
- Detroit Lakes: -32 degrees
- Hibbing: -31 degrees
- Alexandria: -29 degrees
- Hinckley: -27 degrees
- Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -24 degrees
- St. Cloud: -24 degrees
- Willmar: -22 degrees
- Cambridge-21 degrees
- Grand Marais: -21 degrees
- Hutchinson: -21 deegres
- Morris: -20 degrees
- Faribault: -18 degrees
- Mankato: -18 degrees
- Marshall: -17 degrees
- Red Wing: -16 degrees
- Owatonna: -16 degrees
- Windom-12 degrees
Cold continues Sunday
What’s next:
The Twin Cities are under a cold weather advisory that is expected to last through Sunday morning, so residents should prepare for frigid conditions if they have plans to be outdoors.
Sunday will be slightly less frigid with temperatures climbing above zero. However, it will still feel like 10 below zero in the afternoon.
Milder and warmer temperatures are expected to return for the work week.
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