MPR’s Mary Losure presents numerous interview audio clips of how Twin Cities residents have been dealing with commutes during the snowstorm. No one seems to be a fan of MTC bus service…or the snow.
Lore has claimed it as “The Halloween Blizzard,” and Minnesotan memories and tales have only increased with the passage of time. Snow started falling on the morning of October 31, 1991. By midnight, the storm had dumped 8.2 inches of snow at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, breaking the record for the most snow on that date. By the time it was all done three days later, the storm had dumped more than 2 feet of snow in the Twin Cities and 3 feet in Duluth. The North Shore city’s 36.9-inch snowfall set a record at the time as the largest single snowstorm total for Minnesota.
Transcripts
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SPEAKER 1: Well, it wasn't that bad. I took the bus and other than trudging through the street to get there, I did all right. The bus was there, when I was walking up to the corner. So I got very lucky this morning.
SPEAKER 2: I walked. And it was cold on the side of my face because the ice was pelting me. Otherwise, I'm warm. But it was not easy. It was slippery and cold. No buses out there that I could find. And I didn't even try to get my car out.
SPEAKER 3: Pretty hearty Minnesotan.
SPEAKER 2: Yeah. And then I came for a seminar. And nobody's even up there, so I'm probably the only one to show up, so I could have stayed home.
SPEAKER 3: How was it this morning for you getting to work?
SPEAKER 4: Oh, terrible. I cannot make-- I always drive. But today, I have to take a bus. It's hard to walk two blocks from my house to the bus. It's terrible. Oh, I would stay home, but I can't.
SPEAKER 5: Well, absolutely pitiful. I'm pissed off at the MTC. I waited 35 minutes for the 8 bus. Two of them went on Franklin Avenue going towards the University of Minnesota. But the one I was going towards Downtown Minneapolis never showed up.
Number two, the bus got stuck twice on Franklin Avenue. Now, I'm late to work. Probably have to work some overtime to make up for it. MTC has a lousy system. They should give me a refund on my monthly bus pass for this month.
SPEAKER 3: What about you?
SPEAKER 6: I've been on about four buses this morning. I've been on buses since 6 o'clock. And I'm just glad I made it. I hope I get home.
SPEAKER 7: Interesting, interesting. We helped push the MTC bus out. Very bad. I had four blocks to walk in a whole lot of deep drifts. And I'm sorry I came out. And I hope I get back home better.