Minnesota schools cancel or move classes online amid dangerously cold conditions

Most Minnesota school districts canceled classes or moved to online learning Friday, as a blast of arctic air brought the coldest conditions seen in the state in more than five years.

Air temperatures in the 20s and 30s below zero — with wind chills of 35 to 55 below zero — are expected across Minnesota on Friday. Schools canceling classes amid the dangerously cold weather included St. Paul, Anoka-Hennepin, Duluth and Mankato.

Bemidji, Bloomington and Faribault were among the districts moving to e-learning days on Friday. The University of Minnesota announced that its Twin Cities, Duluth and Rochester campuses would be on reduced operations Friday.

Find a complete list of schools below.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s office said Thursday that he was encouraging school districts to monitor the weather forecast and stay in contact with families — but he did not move to order schools closed on Friday. There is precedent for such a move; Walz’s predecessor, Mark Dayton, ordered all public schools in Minnesota to close due to forecast dangerously cold conditions in January 2014.

In addition to schools canceling classes, the forecast has prompted some event organizers to change plans. The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, set to take place over the next few days at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, has canceled all games on Friday.

“This is not a decision made lightly — our priority is keeping players and staff safe,” organizers said in a statement posted online. Games are set to resume on Saturday and Sunday.

The St. Paul Winter Carnival canceled its outdoor events for Thursday night and Friday; indoor events will continue as scheduled.

Organizers of the annual Hockey Day Minnesota events — taking place in Hastings this year — said all games are still on as scheduled.

“Fans attending Hockey Day Minnesota games on Friday and Saturday are encouraged to dress appropriately with multiple layers and blankets,” organizers said in a Facebook post. “Heated tents and fire pits will be available for fans to use throughout the complex.”

The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced that a project planned for this weekend — setting beams for the new Kellogg Boulevard / Third Street bridge over Interstate 94 east of downtown St. Paul — has been postponed until Feb. 6-8 because of the frigid forecast. That bridge work, when it happens, will require a weekend closure of the freeway.

School changes for Friday, Jan. 23

Check for updates from your local school district about the status of classes. This list does not include districts — including Minneapolis and Rochester — that were already scheduled to be off on Friday

Closed

• Anoka Technical College

• Anoka-Hennepin

• Anoka-Ramsey Community College — all campuses

• Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City

• Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa

• Blooming Prairie

• Blue Earth Area

• Braham Area

• Brainerd

• Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose

• Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart

• Burnsville-Eagan-Savage

• Byron

• Central Lakes College — Brainerd and Staples campuses

• Chatfield

• Chisago Lakes

• Clearbrook-Gonvick

• Climax-Shelly

• Cloquet

• Cook County

• Crookston

• Crosby-Ironton

• Dakota County Technical College

• Dassel-Cokato

• Deer River

• Detroit Lakes

• Dover-Eyota

• Duluth

• Eastern Carver County

• Eden Prairie

• Edina

• Ely

• Esko

• Fairmont Area

• Fisher

• Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College

• Forest Lake Area

• Glencoe-Silver Lake

• Goodhue

• Grand Meadow

• Grand Rapids Area

• Greenway

• Hastings

• Hayfield

• Hendricks

• Hennepin Technical College

• Henning

• Hill City

• Hinckley-Finlayson

• Hudson, Wis.

• Inver Grove Heights

• Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton

• Kasson-Mantorville

• Kelliher

• Kenyon-Wanamingo

• Kimball Area

• Kittson Central

• La Crescent-Hokah

• La Crosse, Wis.

• Lanesboro

• Le Sueur-Henderson

• LeRoy-Ostrander

• Lewiston-Altura

• Lyle

• Mabel-Canton

• Mankato Area

• Maple River

• Martin County West

• McGregor

• Minnesota North College — Hibbing, Itasca, Mesabi Range-Virginia, Mesabi Range-Eveleth and Vermilion campuses. Rainy River campus will be open

• Minnesota State College Southeast — all campuses

• Minnesota West Community & Technical College — all campuses

• Minnetonka

• Mora

• Mounds View

• North Branch Area

• North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale

• Northland-Remer

• Northland Community & Technical College — all campuses

• Ogilvie

• Onamia

• Orono

• Osceola, Wis.

• Osseo Area

• Owatonna

• Pequot Lakes

• Pillager

• Pine City

• Pine River-Backus

• Prescott, Wis. (e-learning for some grades)

• Proctor

• Red Lake

• Red Rock Central

• Red Wing

• Richfield

• River Falls, Wis.

• Rock Ridge

• Rockford Area

• Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan

• Roseville Area

• Rush City

• Rushford-Peterson

• St. Charles

• St. Croix Falls, Wis.

• St. Francis Area

• St. Michael-Albertville

• St. Louis Park

• St. Paul

• Sartell-St. Stephen (e-learning for grades 9-12)

• Somerset, Wis.

• South St. Paul

• South Washington County

• Southland

• Spring Lake Park

• Stewartville

• Stillwater Area

• Superior, Wis.

• Thief River Falls

• Triton

• Upsala Area

• Verndale (e-learning for grade 12)

• Wabasso

• Waconia

• Waseca

• West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan

• Westonka

• White Bear Lake Area

• Winona Area

• Winona State University — Rochester campus

• Wrenshall

Online learning days

• Adrian

• Aitkin

• Albert Lea Area

• Alexandria

• Annandale

• Ashby

• Augsburg University

• Austin

• Badger

• Bagley

• Barnesville

• Battle Lake

• Becker

• Belle Plaine

• Bemidji

• Benson

• Big Lake

• Blackduck

• Bloomington

• BOLD

• Brandon-Evansville

• Browns Valley

• Caledonia Area

• Cambridge-Isanti

• Campbell-Tintah

• Cannon Falls

• Carlton

• Cedar Mountain

• Central (Norwood Young America)

• Chisholm

• Cleveland

• College of St. Scholastica (reduced operations)

• Columbia Heights

• Cromwell-Wright

• Delano

• East Central

• Eden Valley-Watkins

• Edgerton

• Elk River Area

• Faribault

• Farmington Area

• Floodwood

• Foley

• Fond du Lac Ojibwe

• Frazee-Vergas 

• Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop

• Goodridge

• Greenbush-Middle River

• Grygla

• Hermantown

• Hibbing

• Holdingford

• Houston

• Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted

• Hutchinson

• International Falls

• Jordan

• Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg

• Kingsland

• Lac qui Parle Valley

• Laporte

• Lake of the Woods

• Lake Benton

• Lake Park Audubon

• Lake Superior College

• Lakeview

• Lester Prairie

• Litchfield

• Little Falls

• Lynd

• MACCRAY

• Mahnomen

• Marshall

• Menahga

• Mesabi East

• Milaca

• Minneota

• Minnesota State Community and Technical College — all campuses

• Montevideo

• Monticello

• Morris Area

• Mountain Lake

• Nevis

• New London-Spicer

• New Prague Area

• New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva

• New York Mills

• Nicollet

• North Hennepin Community College

• Northome

• Ortonville

• Osakis

• Park Rapids

• Parkers Prairie

• Pelican Rapids

• Perham

• Pierz

• Pine Island

• Pipestone Area

• Plainview-Elgin-Millville

• Princeton

• Red Lake Falls

• Renville County West

• Riverland Community College

• Rocori

• Roseau

• Rothsay

• Royalton

• St. Clair

• St. Cloud Area

• St. Cloud State University

• St. Cloud Technical & Community College

• St. James

• St. Peter

• Sauk Rapids-Rice

• Sibley East

• Sioux Falls, S.D.

• Sleepy Eye

• South Central College — all campuses

• Staples-Motley

• Stephen-Argyle Central

• Swanville

• Tri-City United

• Underwood

• United South Central

• University of Minnesota Duluth (reduced operations / online classes)

• University of Minnesota Duluth (reduced operations / online classes until 9 a.m. Saturday)

• University of Minnesota Morris (reduced operations / online classes until 9 a.m. Saturday)

• University of Minnesota Rochester (reduced operations / online classes until 7:30 a.m. Saturday)

• University of Minnesota Twin Cities (reduced operations / online classes until 6 a.m. Saturday)

• University of North Dakota

• University of Wisconsin-Superior

• Wabasha-Kellogg

• Wadena-Deer Creek

• Walker Hackensack Akeley

• Warren-Alvarado-Oslo

• Warroad

• Watertown-Mayer

• Waubun-Ogema-White Earth

• West Central Area

• Wheaton Area

• Willmar

• Windom

• Worthington

• Zumbrota–Mazeppa

• Warm Thursday ahead of soaking rains Friday
• From tiny showers to tracking the big wave
• Next chance of showers late Wednesday with more rain Friday
• Overnight rains into the start of fall foliage