More than 600 flights were canceled at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Sunday, and snow emergencies went into effect in Minneapolis, St. Paul and several other cities across the state. The storm is expected to deposit more than a foot of snow in some areas before conditions improve.
School closures and e-learning days
The storm’s most sweeping impact on Monday will be felt in classrooms. Dozens of school districts across Minnesota and western Wisconsin announced closures or shifted to e-learning and virtual learning days for Monday, March 16.
In the Twin Cities metro, Minneapolis Public Schools closed for pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and moved sixth through twelfth grade to e-learning. St. Paul Public Schools closed entirely on Monday. Lakeville School District, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, Eastern Carver County Schools, Farmington Public Schools and Jordan Public Schools all announced closures. Roseville Area Schools shifted to e-learning for all grades from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Further into the state, Minnesota State University Mankato shifted to remote learning and moved non-essential operations to remote status. Minnesota West Community and Technical College delayed all campus openings until 10 a.m. on Monday. South Central College and Minnesota State College Southeast both announced virtual days for their respective campuses.
In Wisconsin, Baldwin-Woodville Area Schools, St. Croix Central Schools, New Richmond Schools and Cochrane-Fountain City all announced closures or virtual learning days.
Several colleges and technical schools also closed their physical campuses, including Dakota County Technical College and Inver Hills Community College, both of which kept online student services available.
Business and venue closures
The closure list for Today extended well beyond schools. Dozens of businesses across the metro and greater Minnesota shut their doors, with many announcing plans to reopen on Monday at reduced hours or at midday.
In Minneapolis, the Walker Art Center, American Swedish Institute, Birchbark Books, Midtown Global Market and Mother Earth Gardens all closed. The Bell Museum in St. Paul and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona also shut down for the day.
Several coffee shops, bakeries and local retailers closed across the metro and surrounding communities, including Edina Coffee Roasters, Red Bench Bakery in Chaska and Excelsior, Krown Bakery and Eatery in Anoka and Nadia Cakes in Maple Grove and Woodbury. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska and Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington also closed, with all programs at the refuge canceled.
Mission Animal Hospital in Eden Prairie closed Sunday and Monday. Children’s Minnesota’s Partners in Pediatrics Primary Care Clinic in Maple Grove also shut down for the storm.
Event cancellations and postponements
The weekend’s event calendar took a significant hit across both days. On Saturday, several performances were postponed or canceled, including Jeff Foxworthy at Treasure Island Event Center and a Chicago Farmer show at The Cedar Cultural Center, which was rescheduled to November 14.
Today cancellations included performances at Turf Club, Bryant Lake Bowl and Crooners, with most rescheduled for later dates in spring. Justin Willman’s show at the Pablo Center in Eau Claire was pushed all the way to August 28.
One event did proceed as scheduled. The Minnesota Wild hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at 6:30 p.m. Sunday in St. Paul despite concerns about whether the Maple Leafs would be able to travel. The team landed at MSP Airport just after midnight, clearing the way for the game to go ahead.
What comes next
School closure and delay decisions for Monday continued to roll in through Sunday evening, with districts updating their plans as snow totals became clearer. Several schools that closed Sunday indicated they would reassess conditions Monday morning before deciding whether to reopen or extend closures into the week.
