Minnesotans trounce January and Fighting February.

Minnesotans trounce January and Fighting February. There was no whining this last January 2010 as Minnesotans took on the weather with relish. Snow fell like scoopfuls in December at Christmas time. There were not many complaints as many embraced the quiet of a beautiful snow gilded landscape. East Central Minnesotans were polled on slippery snow banks on the corner of their street how they fared this January. Neighbors seized the opportunity of weather stories such as frozen pipes, slippery sidewalk spills, smashed in fenders, and collapsed roofs telling how they put these setbacks in prospective. They have seen worse and they are forging ahead to a spring outlook.

The end of December the big snowstorm came and went and we of the North Star State waited for the Big Chill with baited icy breath. The Chill whipped 20 to 25 below after the 1^st of January and lasted awhile. It looked like we were heading for the record book, which grizzly Minnesotans love to talk about breaking; but alas it got too mild in mid-January to put any tally marks up. Chris Shaffer weather blog from WCCO reported the Big Chill came back at the end of January trying to give us a spanking, but we blew it off when we went into February. The real demise in record setting came with our snow fall; we did not have any significant snow as Kare 11 has reported on Groundhog Day about the January shortfall. We were cold but no significant snow fell in the usually snowiest month of the year.

Minnesota's demeanor is filled with overcoming; some call it brain freeze, with our ice fishing contest, snow carnivals, winter parades, snow sports and our travel stories about driving during a snow storm. A social and meeting time is snow blowing and helping shovel the sidewalks on a Saturday morning. Stories are swapped about local news and then back to the igloo for nourishment. The stories are then retold to the family with hopes that things will go better for the ones that have been bit by the cold of January.

This year many pipes have busted on houses kept at 50 degrees with no one living there as reported by Servicemaster representative. This happened across the street from me in Cambridge in an empty house that was newly remodeled. The house had ruined floors and walls due to furnace shutdowns or the pipes just got too cold. So sad. Snow is also causing ice dams on our roofs. Channel 11 weather reported ice dams are building up on homes and how dangerous it has been. Recently a newly remodeled restaurant in Long Lake was destroyed by the ice dams and snow getting to heavy for its roof. It was reported by the owner that all the walls and flooring were destroyed to this new owner’s dismay. Cars have been sliding into each other because of icy conditions; recently outside my house two cars had a kissing accident due to pallid conditions.

These property losses costs make Minnesotans a little weak in the knees; but they brace up and continue on the trail, steadfast to face the next January in 2011. After all the Groundhog on February 2^nd may not always be right; spring is within sight for many of the true overcomers from the North.