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CATHY WURZER: Good morning. I'm Cathy Wurzer. It's Morning Edition on Minnesota Public Radio. Plows are out trying to clear anywhere from 7 inches to as much as 2 feet of snow in our region, and it continues to snow.

It will snow on and off today, with blowing snow as the storm exits the region. One may wonder, what about towns that were socked with snow during the last storm, the one that blew in last weekend? Minnesota Public Radio's Sea Stachura is in southeastern Minnesota-- Rochester, to be exact-- with news on how people are coping with the snow there. Good morning, Sea.

SEA STACHURA: Good morning, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Well, what's happening in your area?

SEA STACHURA: Well, Winona, in the last storm, got about 30 inches of snow, and they added another six over this last night. They say that they won't be able to catch up with the snow plowing until it melts, essentially. They're moving what they say is 5,400 cubic yards.

And to give you a sense of what that means, the biggest snowplow hauler that you can imagine can only hold 15 yards of snow. So really, they're in a tough position. And the schools are closed. They're working 12- to 14-hour shifts each snowplow.

CATHY WURZER: Well, another area that's hard-hit appears to be Albert Lea. We talked to a person at a truck stop earlier this morning, and she was talking about how they were inundated with truckers who had to go off the road come off the road because I-35 was closed.

SEA STACHURA: Yeah. There's the Ramada Inn in Albert Lea has a funny story. I spoke with them earlier this morning. And they've got about 80 rooms in that facility and about 250 people right now, people in rollaway beds.

And last night, I guess a band came through. They were heading for Minneapolis, and they got stuck and ended up performing all night at this hotel. So they had a good time with the snow, but they're definitely very hard up. The hotel says that they've been finding every last scrap of food that they possibly can to feed all the people in this hotel.

CATHY WURZER: There's always some good stories that come out of storms like this. And two, we should mention that I-35 from Albert Lea to the Iowa border is still closed, by the way, because of some blowing snow. Same situation I-90, going from Albert Lea to the South Dakota border.

SEA STACHURA: I should also mention that we have had some stranded travelers and some bad accidents. I know Albert Lea saw at least three rollover accidents last week. But so far, Winona and Albert Lea both say that they haven't seen that many accidents on the road. So people must be driving a little bit more carefully.

CATHY WURZER: Mankato, the Mankato area, I see no travel advised.

SEA STACHURA: Absolutely none. They are pretty much in the same position that Albert Lea is in. Of course, they're further west. Roads are getting cleared, but their hotels are in the same position. They're full up.

MSU Mankato is closed for the day. They've canceled classes.

CATHY WURZER: Now, I have to ask you-- you drove into work to be with us here this morning-- what was your drive like?

SEA STACHURA: It took me a while to get here. The roads are pretty slick. And they're doing a good job here of clearing the streets. They're also pushing about another 6 inches on top of what we already have here into driveways. And so it did take me quite a while.

I'd say the main roads are completely clear. Side streets, that that'll take some time.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Sea, thank you so much.

SEA STACHURA: Thanks, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: That is Minnesota Public Radio's Sea Stachura.