MINNESOTA, USA – It finally feels like winter in the Twin Cities! Cold temperatures have been the norm over the past few weeks, but in a few days, things will change.
“Mother Nature hasn't cooperated with us weather-wise,” said John Maslowski, snow park manager for the St. Paul Winter Carnival. “So, it was so warm we couldn't even make snow.”
Temperatures are expected to rise next week, and our winter has not been kinder to winter recreation workers.
“It took until Sunday to start making the snow,” Maslowski said, standing at the state fairgrounds where huge blocks of snow are being made for sculpture. “Hundreds, if not thousands of hours here, preparing for this and creating this amazing destination for people.”
They're not the only ones bracing for the temperature change.
“It really feels like a battle between fire and ice, you could say, a battle between hot and cold,” said Britton Youngstrom, director of operations at the Ice Palace in Delano.
The Ice Palace needs cool temperatures to keep its facilities cool, so some warmth isn't a bad thing, though it's all about interaction, Youngstrom says.
“It's been very warm this whole season, until a few weeks here where it was almost too cold,” he said. “This fluctuates greatly, depending on the weather.”
Our strange weather has really affected them. Youngstrom says they had planned to open in mid-December but will now start on January 21st.
It's all part of working outdoors, changing and adapting to what Mother Nature brings. Even with the warm-up next week, one thing that won't change is the preparation of these events for you.
“You know, the pain in my back index finger, as they say, wasn't that cold, it wasn't that snowy,” Maslowski said with a laugh. “But you know, we're creating an event for everyone to come here. We're encouraging families to come here and have fun.”
The Ice Palace in Delano will open on January 21. The snow blocks worked on by Maslowski's teams will be sculpted by the teams starting Friday, January 26 at 8 a.m.
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