IT’S LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON and we should be on the interstate right now driving from Faribault to Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. But instead, wicked winter weather changed everything. We are hunkered down at home, in the midst of a good old-fashioned Minnesota blizzard predicted to drop as much as 10 inches of snow on our area.
Fifteen minutes to the south, Interstate 35 southbound is closed from Owatonna into Iowa. Travel is not advised in many areas, including north of Faribault, the direction we would be going. There are crashes, spin-outs, jack-knifed semis. Snowplows have been pulled in some counties due to deteriorating conditions with wind whipping snow, creating white-out conditions.
And at the airport, where we should be headed to drop off our son for his 7 pm flight back to Boston, cancellations and delays are stacking up. Saturday afternoon he rebooked to an early Tuesday morning flight per our suggestion. We did not want to be driving on Interstate 35 to the airport in a blizzard.
But Randy and I did head downtown Faribault, a short drive from our house, to celebrate a friend’s 80th birthday earlier this afternoon. In the 90 minutes we were there, weather conditions worsened substantially. The wind picked up, swirling snow along Central Avenue. If things look this bad in town, I can only imagine how conditions are in the open countryside.
Yup, I’m thankful to be home and not attempting a trip to the airport. The son can work remotely on Monday. We’re all safe, sheltered inside waiting out this blizzard.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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