Snowplows get back to work

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota snowplow operators across the southern third part of the state were working Sunday to clear roads from a winter storm that blanketed streets and highways over two days.

Motorists have experienced hazardous driving conditions on highways that were covered with ice and drifting snow from southern Minnesota up to near the Twin Cities area and St. Cloud, according to the state’s Department of Transportation.

The Star Tribune reported that several municipalities parked their snowplows Saturday because driving conditions were so perilous. But on Sunday, Dodge County officials in southeastern Minnesota said in a statement that snowplows were back at work “to try and clear all the roads this morning.”

The State Patrol responded to 683 crashes across Minnesota from 5 a.m. Friday to 9:30 p.m. Saturday. One fatality and 68 injuries were reported during that span.

Twin Cities plant set to restart

ST. PAUL (AP) — A Twin Cities manufacturing plant that was shut down for months over pollution problems will be allowed to resume operations in phases, state officials said Friday.

The state had ordered Water Gremlin, a company that uses lead to make car battery terminals and fishing weights, to stop a coating process after tests found high levels of toxic metal in the children of some employees.

An administrative order by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency allows the White Bear Township company to start work again while both the agency and a third party monitor emissions, WCCO-TV reported.

Coating could start as early as next week.

State Fair to add metal detectors

BLOOMINGTON (AP) — The Minnesota State Fair’s governing board decided Sunday to add metal detectors at all 11 of its gates beginning this year.

General manager Jerry Hammer said the process will be similar to what people experience at other big venues, such as the Xcel Energy Center and US Bank Stadium. Hammer also pointed out that several state fairs have already been using metal detectors for years, including Wisconsin and Texas.

No incidents involving weapons have been reported inside the fairgrounds recently, according to Minnesota Public Radio News. But three people were shot outside the main gate during an altercation shortly after the fair’s closure for the year on September 2019. The fair this year runs from Aug. 27 through Sept. 7.