Time to start thinking about snow emergencies

It is hard to believe that in early October many locations in Minnesota along with North and South Dakota recently received measurable snow. That means it is time for my friendly reminder about “Snow Emergencies” in Minneota.

We have a city ordinance that says no vehicle shall be parked on a street after a snow emergency is declared. In order to give you as much notice as possible we use the following procedure:

1. The Minneota Street and Police Department agree that a future Snow Emergency will be needed. We make this decision based upon the National Weather Service forecast.

2. We provide a minimum of a 12 hour warning prior to the Snow Emergency. This warning is posted on the City of Minneota Facebook page, cell phone messaged via Nixle and given to the Marshall area radio stations to broadcast when possible. The notice is posted by 4 p.m.

3. At 4 a.m. the following morning (12 hours following the notice) we begin plowing the streets. This is the same time that I start writing tickets. Any vehicle found parked on a street will be cited.

4 – The Snow Emergency remains in effect until it is cancelled on Facebook and Nixle.

For severe weather a Snow Emergency may last for several days. Tickets will be issued everyday at 4 a.m. until the Snow Emergency is cancelled.

In order to avoid a ticket we encourage you to follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Minneota or to sign up for the free Nixle messaging service.

You can sign up for Nixle by messaging our zip code – 56264 to 888777. If you have specific concerns or questions, please contact Chief Bill Bolt at 507-360-7864 or stop in at city hall.