For some districts, it’ll be too cool for school on Tuesday, too

No school for you … Christopher Magan’s PiPress story says: “St. Paul and Minneapolis districts announced Monday morning that schools would remain closed on Tuesday due to the cold, and several suburban districts are shutting down, too. Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius announced Monday morning that a decision on whether to hold classes Tuesday would be up to districts. Other districts that have announced there will be no school on Tuesday include Forest Lake, Inver Grove Heights and Mounds View.” Let me tell you how it was when I was a kid …

In case you were wondering … . The National Weather Service reports: “The coldest wind chill temperature found in Minnesota so far today is -63 degrees at Grand Marais. Airport at 9am (-31 degrees F and 21 mph wind). The coldest wind chill at the Twin Cities so far is -48 degrees at 5am (-22 degrees F and a 15 mph wind).” I suppose that means The World’s Greatest Donut Shop is closed.

Paul Douglas has this up: “Coldest Daytime Highs At MSP. We may come close to making this Top 10 List, with a predicted “high” of -13 to 15F today, the coldest day of the winter, possibly the coldest day since the mid 90s.”

Wild rice may prove a significant impediment to mining up north. Dan Kraker’s MPR story says: “A 40-year-old state law limits how much of a mining byproduct called “sulfate” can be discharged into wild rice producing waters. Prompted by mining industry concerns that the standard is too stringent, the state has been giving it another look and will release results of its two-year study today.”

Precious Second Amendment Freedoms Watch:  Pam Louwagie of the Strib says: “Leslie LeCuyer knew the City Council meeting in Foley would be contentious, with townspeople in the central Minnesota community arguing over a city worker’s employment status. LeCuyer, a council member, didn’t know until after the fall meeting, however, that someone may have quietly brought in a loaded handgun. … State law has quietly prevented most cities from banning legal guns from many public buildings since the Legislature changed handgun laws in 2003.” Because you’re always safer if someone in the argument has a loaded gun.

“Inequitable” funding is the topic of a Christopher Magan piece at the PiPress. “A crumbling track, antiquated heating and cooling systems, outdated classrooms — those are some of the problems that could be fixed in the Forest Lake school district if voters approve a $176 million tax request in May. … Testimony from Forest Lake leaders helped drive Minnesota lawmakers to create a committee last spring that has spent the past six months studying how to make funding for school facilities more equitable. The group of legislators and education advocates will make a recommendation to the Legislature in February.”

Good luck with that last-minute door-knocking … . Says John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune: “Jim Stauber and Patrick Boyle aren’t just facing each other in next week’s St. Louis County Board special election in eastern Duluth. They’re also facing cold, wind and snow — and likely a major case of voter apathy. Many voters in the district may not even know about the special election that will replace Steve O’Neil, who died in July from cancer. Others may know about it but choose not to venture out. ‘Have I been out there knocking on doors? No. It’s too cold. It hasn’t been a normal campaign that way,’ Stauber told the News Tribune.” I’m sure there’s a study showing how much 8th District types admire frostbite cred in their candidates.

Considering the amount of taxpayer money involved with their operation, I don’t think this qualifies as meddling. The AP story says: “State Sen. Scott Dibble has written to the Minnesota Vikings owner, urging him to thoroughly review accusations by former punter Chris Kluwe that a special teams coordinator made anti-gay comments. … Dibble, an openly gay Democrat from Minneapolis, wrote he was ‘somewhat encouraged’ by the team’s response, but the allegations require more than a cursory investigation.”

Fine. As long as they don’t sell off the information … Tom Webb of the PiPress says: “Caribou Coffee is launching a loyalty program, dubbed Caribou Perks, which will reward its frequent customers with an occasional surprise goodie. … Coffee drinkers must first enroll online at caribouperks.com, complete a profile and provide contact information. The offer includes only ‘participating’ Caribou shops, and not every franchisee is participating.”