Minnesota Power works to restore power outages

DULUTH, Minn. — Following the storm that hit the Northland, numerous trees and branches have brought down power lines, causing significant outages.

People across the Northland spent their snow day shoveling out cars or walking around outside after a major blizzard hit the region.

“I keep telling myself how much I love winter and I hope for it, but then when you get this, you really wonder if that’s the truth,” said Carl Peterson, Duluth resident.

During the storm, around 6,500 Minnesota Power customers experienced power outages caused by significant damage to power lines.

“As soon as the storm hit, we kept crews on all night long,” said Josh Goutermont, vice president of grid operations at Minnesota Power. “Those crews did an awesome, fantastic job of getting out there and really getting after some of the real big outages that we experienced last night.”

Minnesota Power asked that everyone stay clear of all power lines, poles, and wires, as they could be energized and dangerous.

“I feel like we want to get out,” said Ellie Zarajsheck, a student at UMD. “When it was like starting to snow, we wanted to get out there and kind of go around a little bit, see what it was like outside.”

While power crews work to clean up damages and restore power, they again ask people be cautious and give the crew members space to work.

“We feel really comfortable that we’ve got a good plan,” said Goutermont. “Our goal tonight is to push through the night and get any, any of the outages that are left cleaned up.”

Minnesota Power shared that they are just under 600 customers with outages, and people can report an outage and track active outages through their website.