The ghost of the nearly record-breaking snowfalls of 2022-2023 haunted St. Paul’s snow emergency this week, forcing the city’s Public Works to pair civilian ticket issuers with police parking enforcement officers to issue printed instead of handwritten tickets to vehicles parked in plow areas.

In a purely administrative decision, “Ramsey County District Court ruled … that as of May 1, 2025, we couldn’t issue handwritten tickets,” explained St. Paul Public Works Director Sean Kershaw, in an interview Friday. “It was overwhelming the court system. In the winter of ’22 and ’23, we issued over 20,000 written tickets. Most of those were tickets for snow.”

The written tickets require additional data entry processing and generally take more time, he said.

With parking enforcement officers working the printers from their squad cars, civilians hired by Public Works served as runners this week, scouring streets to issue some 3,253 tickets from Sunday through Wednesday. Those tickets resulted in 952 tows, hitting the department’s goal of maintaining a clearance rate of about 30%.

“We were really efficient,” Kershaw said. “It’s at least as much as, or more than, some of our other snow emergencies.”

The snow emergency that was declared last Sunday officially ended at 9 p.m. Thursday, but snowing continued Friday morning, and could resume Saturday evening with another inch or so of precipitation. There also may be more snow next week.

“This week has been a good example of why we need a new model,” said Kershaw, who began experimenting last winter with alternating even/odd-side parking in two pilot areas in Highland Park and Payne-Phalen. “When we have successive little snows, it’s hard to go back and plow residential streets because they’re all parked up. You’ve got cars on both sides.”

“With this alternate side parking, we can go back and clean them up without calling a snow emergency,” he said.

Snelling-University, Selby-Western even/odd parking

To test the concept in more densely-populated areas, Public Works will enforce temporary even/odd parking in two new pilot areas as of Jan. 1, and they’re both “areas that are a little more difficult,” Kershaw said.

Near the intersection of Snelling and University avenues, even/odd parking will take effect west of Snelling and north and south of University, within the area bounded by Thomas Avenue, Snelling Avenue, St. Anthony Avenue/Interstate 94 and Aldine Street. In the southwest quadrant of the intersection of Selby and Western avenues, even/odd parking will take effect in the area bounded by Selby, Western, Summit Avenue and Dale Street.

On-street parking in the designated areas will be limited to one side of the street, alternating weekly between the even and odd-numbered addresses. Signage will be posted, and maps of the two areas are online at StPaul.gov/NewSnow.

Salting streets

St. Paul Public Works typically reserves salt or brine for major arterial streets, bridges and other high-traffic areas, rather than residential side streets, but sunny days followed by frigid overnight temperatures inspired a change of plan. In light of ice build-up and compacted snows during the freeze-thaw cycle, the department began salting residential streets, as well, and was still cleaning up where it could on Friday on both residentials and arterial thoroughfares.

Where to call if your street wasn’t plowed

Kershaw said he was confident plows had worked their way through every street in the city, but if your street isn’t fully plowed, call 651-266-9700 to have plows do another pass. Major ticketing and towing wrapped up Monday night, but the department has gone back to tag abandoned vehicles.

Delayed text alerts

On Sunday, before ticketing and towing commenced, some of the city’s alert systems kicked in a few hours later than usual.

St. Paul Public Works informs residents that a snow emergency is in effect through a variety of platforms, from social media blasts on sites such as X, previously known as Twitter, to emails and text alerts in multiple languages, an online parking map, a recorded line, local news media and, new in recent months, outgoing voice messages. Not all of those systems rolled out without a kink on Sunday.

A problem with a third-party vendor slowed text alerts for hours, sending out 66,000 text messages on a staggered basis.

“Some went out right away, some trickled out,” said Lisa Hiebert, a spokesperson for St. Paul Public Works, earlier this week.

The snow emergency was declared at about 12:30 p.m. and some 64,000 emails launched soon after, but by 2 p.m. only about half of the text alerts had been distributed. Still, “all the text messages went out by 6 p.m.,” Hiebert said, giving recipients several hours to move their cars.

Another issue — tied to the cyber-security incident that crippled city systems for weeks this summer — left Public Works scrambling to change the message on a recorded line — 651-266-PLOW — that residents can call for updated snow emergency information. That message was not changed until 6 p.m. Sunday, despite the best efforts of communications staff, Hiebert said.

“We had a little glitch with the voicemail message and being able to access that,” she said.

New and existing platforms

The city added a new phone service about a year ago that sends recorded snow emergency messages to 150,000 phone numbers culled from public records. The Everbridge Resident Connect service sends the voice recordings to landlines and mobile numbers using “open sources” registered in St. Paul, Hiebert said. Everbridge is distinct from the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) used by FEMA.

“It’s just one of many, many ways people can get the status update,” Hiebert said. “Signing up for email and text alerts is the best, but residents can also check out the snow emergency parking map, check our socials.” More information is online at StPaul.gov/snow.

How to report vehicles blocking plows

During a snow emergency, residents concerned about an abandoned vehicle blocking snowplow access can call Ramsey County’s non-emergency dispatch number — 651-291-1111 — or fill out an online form at StPaul.gov/SnowTicketing.

Minneapolis also declared a snow emergency on Sunday, after a winter storm that began the previous Friday finished dropping about 5 inches of snow throughout the Twin Cities.

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Hiebert’s advice to new residents?

“If you’re going out of town and you park on the street, make sure you always leave your keys with someone trusted, because we do ticket and tow,” she said.

Today is Saturday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2025. There are 25 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, was ratified as Georgia became the 27th state to endorse it.

Also on this date:

In 1907, at least 361 men and boys died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, West Virginia; it was the worst mining disaster in U.S. history.

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In 1917, more than 1,700 people were killed when an explosives-laden French cargo ship, the Mont Blanc, collided with the Norwegian merchant vessel SS Imo in the harbor in Halifax, Nova Scotia, setting off a blast that devastated the Canadian city.

In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast nationally on radio for the first time as Calvin Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.

In 1957, America’s first attempted satellite launch failed as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet off a Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing down and exploding.

In 1969, a free concert by The Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway in Alameda County, California, was marred by the deaths of four people, including one who was stabbed by a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club that was hired to provide concert security.

In 1973, Republican House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president after he was selected by President Richard Nixon to replace Spiro T. Agnew, who resigned amid an extortion and tax evasion scandal.

In 1998, in Venezuela, former Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the government six years earlier, was elected president.

In 2017, President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, announcing plans to move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.

In 2021, ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to four years (later reduced to two) for inciting public unrest and breaching COVID-19 protocols; she is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence after a series of cases brought by the military that had seized power from her elected government.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor JoBeth Williams is 77.
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark is 73.
Actor Tom Hulce is 72.
Comedian Steven Wright is 70.
Rock musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 69.
Animator Nick Park is 67.
Actor Janine Turner is 63.
Writer-director Judd Apatow is 58.
Actor Sarah Rafferty is 53.
NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON’-poh) is 31.
Actor Stefanie Scott is 29.

The No. 4 Minnesota Gophers defeated the Fairfield Stags in straight sets, 25-12, 25-7, 25-13, Friday night at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis.

Minnesota controlled the match from the first serve and strolled to its first win at “The Pav” in the NCAA Tournament since 2022. The Gophers hit .582 and posted eight service aces to Fairfield’s one.

Gophers head coach Keegan Cook said at first he did not know how much of an advantage hosting would give Minnesota.

“I thought, when you get on the plane, you start to feel the energy of the tournament,” Cook said. “So I thought it was probably Wednesday or Thursday when some of the decals started to go down in the building, then I saw the enthusiasm pick up a little bit.”

Well, once Cook’s squad walked into a packed Maturi Pavilion, they channeled that energy on the court.

The first set was no contest as in the blink of an eye, the Gophers held a 5-0 lead. Minnesota strolled to a 25-12 Set 1 victory as senior outside hitter Julia Hanson and freshman opposite Carly Gilk combined for eight kills to lead the offense.

Hanson’s third kill of the first set gave her 1,000 in her college career. She said redshirt freshman setter Stella Swenson has been “great” at finding her this season.

“When I hit that back row attack for Stella, I knew immediately,” Hanson said. “But yeah, it’s not something I was focusing on, but it was at the back of my mind.”

The Stags showed signs of life early in the second set, opening with a 3-1 advantage. But the Gophers answered back with a 14-2 run to establish a stranglehold on Set 2.

A one-sided fight after four points in Set 2, as Minnesota outscored Fairfield 24-4 from that point on to tighten their grip on the match. The Gophers were hitting .543 after two sets and had 10 blocks to the Stags’ one.

Cook said having a full week of practice and keying in on their defensive eye work and winning rallies the hard way paid off.

“It kind of came together in that second set, just a lot of positive touches, a lot of good transition volleyball,” Cook said. “December’s all about transition volleyball, and so yeah, it felt good.”

Fairfield hung around in the third set, trailing 11-10, until a 5-0 scoring run from Minnesota created separation. The Gophers built on that momentum, allowing for it to rotate in subs late with the match in hand.

Gophers senior Chloe Ng picked up her first career NCAA Tournament service ace in what may have been her final match action on the Maturi Pavilion court. The Pav erupted when the ball touched the floor.

Gilk said even though it’s her first year playing with Ng, she’s been able to see the impact she has on the team.

“I know how much work she puts in on and off the court,” Gilk said. “So just seeing her be able to do that at ‘The Pav’, where she’s been her last four years, was so fun to see. I was super excited for her.”

Cook added she had been acing the Gophers in practice all four years, so it was nice to see her ace an opponent.

Minnesota toppled the Stags 25-12 in Set 3 to beat Fairfield to book their spot in the second round. The Gophers only allowed 32 total points across the three sets.

Cook said he expects the Gophers and Iowa State to respond to their first-round matches well, noting he hopes his team will be fresher because of the sweep.

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Rein in, repair, restore, St. Paul

My property taxes in St. Paul went up 20.78% last year. The current proposed increase for 2026 will raise it another 11.1%. How many citizens of St. Paul can sustain an almost 32% increase in property taxes over just two years? When will we see some relief?

It is not surprising that the population of St. Paul is decreasing. The City of St. Paul needs to refocus its spending to only “must haves” and core services until the loss of federal and state funding is better understood. No new discretionary spending. This is the same analysis each of us, as individuals, are doing with our own budgets. This is not stagnation. It is stabilization. This would be responsible financial stewardship on the part of the City.

People are attracted to cities that are well managed. They look to see how high the taxes are and what the community is getting for their taxes. In St. Paul, we have terrible streets, a Parks Department with a maintenance backlog of over $200M and a downtown that is drying up. We have the second highest property tax burden of all the cities that the state reports on. We have the highest sales tax in the state. How are all those funds being spent?

We have reached a breaking point for many. Time to rein in the spending, repair the flawed priorities of St. Paul’s city government and start to restore trust in the ability of our leaders to govern our beloved city.

Gary R. Todd, St. Paul

 

Looking like fools

Minnesota wins a lot of “most of” contests. Like lakes, walleyes, days below freezing, etc. But his latest award takes the cake. Gov Walz apparently has the biggest government fraud numbers in the country. Makes the legendary Chicago corruption look like penny-ante scams. Thanks for keeping the state in the national news. We appreciate looking like fools to the rest of the country.

Louis Matis, Roseville

 

He did OK after that

Note to all the so-called sports analysts and Viking fans: Troy Aikman went 0-11 his first year, which was cut short due to injury. He did OK after that.

David Cassman, St. Paul

 

Is Venezuelan dope more addictive than Honduran dope?

President Trump recently announced he will be pardoning ex-Honduran President Hernandez, who is serving a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking in a West Virginia penitentiary. Hernandez had been found guilty in U.S. courts of importing cocaine into this country.

This confuses me. The president’s stated reason for threatening to launch a war against Venezuela is the drug trafficking by the Venezuelan president. So why the pardon for the ex-Honduran president? Is Venezuelan cocaine more addictive than Honduran cocaine? Or could this be a quid pro quo-caine?

Steve Larson, Minneapolis

 

The president’s petulant whims

All command positions in our military operate under an explicit directive to never needlessly place those under their command in harm’s way. Those deserving of their rank feel some bit of personal failure and responsibility for every life lost. We now have a soldier fatally shot during a deployment that served no purpose other than meeting her Commander in Chief’s insatiable need for theatrical stunts that draw attention to him, and to make it appear he’d gained the upper hand in his whizzing match with a duly elected local official. The most likely outcome for anyone at a lesser level of command would be immediate dismissal and a court martial hearing.

Many offer reasons for yet another impeachment, but prominent among them should be his demonstrable ignorance of the fact members of the military offer their lives in service to the critical needs of our country, not to the childishly petulant whims and grandiose fantasies of its Commander in Chief. And while none of them fired the bullet that took this young soldier’s life, no one in her chain of command who stood by silently in the face of this deployment order can claim not to have had a role in this tragedy.

Tom Baldwin, Falcon Heights

 

Not the way to make America great

Americans expect the president to inform the nation of important issues and events in a formal capacity: State of the Union addresses, important press conferences, etc. Trump, however, randomly, haphazardly and sporadically communicates using a variety of methods, including social media.

Some might consider this being “transparent” and “speaking to the common person;” instead, it’s unfiltered, irresponsible, and downright dangerous.

When we face a crisis as a nation, we want someone to show us a calm, even-tempered demeanor. We want to know that our leader is on the job, managing the crisis in a serious, controlled fashion. We don’t need or want our president publicly projecting his first knee-jerk, emotional reaction; making random, unsubstantiated threats; and casting aspersions on people before he knows all the facts. We don’t need our president calling people names, inciting violence against his perceived enemies and creating social, political unrest.

Trump makes it difficult for us to remain unified as a nation, for us to thoughtfully and effectively solve problems together, and for common decency and humanity to rule the day. His recent rant in the wake of the National Guard tragedy in which one soldier was killed and another critically wounded fanned the flames of violence and unrest in America. Rather than address the tragedy with the seriousness, concern and decorum becoming a leader, he lashed out senselessly and irresponsibly. He spewed blatant and harmful lies about immigrants, insulted a state leader using disgusting language, and openly mocked a member of Congress for her culture and religious beliefs.

The shooter in question was legally accepted into the country during the Trump administration. He came here legally, obtained legal status, and was in no way considered illegal or a criminal until he attacked the National Guard soldiers. The event was tragic, heartbreaking, but certainly doesn’t warrant sweeping generalizations that only serve to pit us against each other in this country.

Unfiltered anger and angst is no way to lead a nation, and no way to make America great.

Laurie Harmon, Hudson

 

Sainted and Tainted

Sainted to the Pioneer Press for printing the article “Cop describes a DWI crash — his own” in the Nov. 26 daily paper. Back in August, Allan Olson (a Woodbury police officer) and his 18-year-old son, Jacob, were injured in an ATV in Itasca County while on vacation, were hit by an impaired driver and both seriously injured. This very preventable collision has changed their lives and their family’s forever. Somehow, both survived and required multiple surgeries and wide financial hardship.

Now, a Tainted to the impaired  driver who hit them.

The article’s main message is that these types of tragic crashes are completely preventable. “To stay safe, drivers should plan their ride before using any impairing substances, line up a sober driver, use rideshare, schedule a pickup or offer to be a designated driver.”

There are many life-saving messages in this timely article…worth reading and following through with family and friends.

Bill Vilendrer, Lake St. Croix Beach

 

A break and a laugh

Thank you for running Mark Glende’s essay, “Just a simple dream, my dream of a birthday mow,” in the Thanksgiving edition of the Pioneer Press. Between all the food prep I was doing on Thanksgiving morning, I took a break, and his essay his gave me a needed laugh. Thank you, and please thank him, too.

M Emily Nieters, Mendota Heights

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