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Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

After 15 years of living in Minnesota, I still can’t say I love snow, but I can definitely say it has become much more of a way of life than it was when I first came to the state. 

Growing up in Virginia, I remember some big snowstorms, but I don’t remember the ground being covered by snow all winter long like it is most of the time in Minnesota. 

Last year and so far this year, we have had relatively mild winters when it comes to snow, which has made this time of year more tolerable for me, but I remember the stories I’ve heard about crazy snowfall totals from years long past.

Though I’m still clearly no snow expert  — even with 15 years of time in this state — I can’t help but chuckle sometimes when my family, who still live on the East Coast and in Toronto, talk about getting snowstorms. Their roads and communities shut down for days if not a week, and people raid all of the stores to load up on supplies in case they’re snowed in for a while. 

In Minnesota, we’re lucky enough to basically have the roads cleared out by the next morning, and if we ran out of milk with cereal at breakfast, we are able to run to the gas station to get more later that day. 

As much as people still complain about the roads sometimes, the response in all reality is still night and day above what you’d find elsewhere most of the time.

My opinions might also be affected by the fact that our family has a snowblower now, which was not always the case.

This technology perhaps is one of my favorite inventions, which makes the ever-dreaded task of clearing snow almost enjoyable.  

On another weather topic, I don’t know about you but I have sure been enjoying these bursts of unseasonably warm weather sprinkled in amidst the bitter cold days, which make it easier to get through the long winter with hopes that spring will be here soon. 

I can’t say I mind having a mild winter. 

Now if we could just do something about reducing the humidity in the summer. 

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor. Her column appears every Wednesday.