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Meteorologists say winters may be warmer, snowier. What is St. Paul doing to prepare?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:01 GMT

Heavy Midwest snows this season have stranded travelers, narrowed roads, forced St. Paul and Minneapolis to institute one-sided parking bans and generally made an icy, slushy muck out of travel.Experts say this is the climatological future, though not every year.“Our winter precipitation has been going up,” said Kenny Blumenfeld, a senior state climatologist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “We’re having a year with a lot of precipitation, and average to above average for temperatures. Even though this trend is going to continue, we’re still going to have some old-fashioned winters — maybe not as frequently as they used to be.”In other words, Blumenfeld said, brace for wetter, heavier snowfalls in the years ahead than, say, 30 or 40 years ago, including some potential record-setters like the current one, interspersed with some winters like any other.“Is this going to be the new normal? Winters like this are probably ...

Sunday Bulletin Board: Today’s starting picture: the late, great Brave Bud Grant!

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:01 GMT

In memoriamWrites CHRIS, “formerly of Falcon Heights, now from beautiful White Bear Lake”: “Feeling sad today about the passing of Bud Grant. Reminds me of this entry to BB I made in 2019:“‘Hunted high and low for this photo before the Vikings football season comes to an end. You always find what you’re looking for in the last place you look.“The young baseball player in the back row on the left is our own Bud Grant. Before he made his mark as a football coach, he was a star pitcher for the Osceola Braves baseball team from 1950 to 1953. Baseball was king in Osceola, Wisconsin, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. A playoff game often drew more than 2,000 fans. As a Vikings fan, I’m glad he didn’t stick to baseball.’“R.I.P., Bud.”Dept. of Neat Stuff (Paperweight of the Gods Division)Gregory J. of Dayton’s Bluff: “‘A paperweight is just what it says: It’s a weight that sits on paper, with th...

Longtime activist and St. Paul resident Vic Rosenthal given his own day in St. Paul

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:01 GMT

Longtime community activist and St. Paul resident Vic Rosenthal, 68, was honored Saturday by the city declaring March 18 “Victor Rosenthal Day” in honor of his decades of community organizing and work for social justice.In the proclamation from St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, Rosenthal was lauded as a champion for racial, social and economic justice, and a tireless advocate for immigrant rights, marriage equality and voting rights.He “has made St. Paul a more equitable and accessible place to live,” through his work to build affordable housing, to provide access to light rail, as an educator at Metro State University and as an advocate for inclusionary zoning and much more, the proclamation said.“Vic’s tenacity and unflagging spirit have always been accompanied by a total inability to hear the word no or stop fighting for justice, in spite of any political environment, inclement weather, illness, or (being told no in the past),” the mayor wrot...

Chilly and sunny Sunday, more rain expected later this week

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:01 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Sunday will be sunny with highs around 40 and wind chills in the low to mid 30s. Mostly clear and the mid to upper 20s again tonight. Spring begins Monday and temperatures will be back up to near normal, in the mid to upper 50s with lots of sun. Rain chances return Tuesday afternoon and last on and off through Friday. Tuesday won't be a washout, but as we get to later in the week multiple rounds of heavy rain are becoming a concern. Temperatures climb up into the 60s Wednesday and 70s Thursday, with more seasonal air moving back in for Friday.

Battlehawks fall to the Defenders 20 to 28

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:01 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- In Week 5 of the 2023 XFL season, the D.C. Defenders and the St. Louis Battlehawks played each other again. D.C. stayed unbeaten by beating A.J. McCarron and the St. Louis Battlehawks 28-20. Running Back Abram Smith ran for 218 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.

Andrew Cogliano, Avalanche’s beloved locker room statesman, discusses future after passing 1,200 games on expiring contract

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:01 GMT

TORONTO — Sometimes the Zamboni is Andrew Cogliano’s only company.He’s routinely the first or second Avalanche player to step foot on the ice for Colorado’s morning skates. On game days across North America this season, Cogliano has occasionally started skating laps while the rink was still getting resurfaced from the home team’s morning skate, which always comes first.“I like getting out there — and 35 years old, sometimes it takes a little bit longer to warm up. So I use that extra time,” the self-deprecating Avalanche wing said. “I think when you play 1,200 games, you get little things that come along the way that work, or some others that don’t work. For me, I think I use pregame skate, I use warm-up, I use those to really get prepared. So that’s probably a nuisance at this point.”A nuisance to whom?“I don’t know. Yeah, no one, I guess,” Cogliano laughed. “Me. Me, because I’ve g...

Rockies’ infield defense must improve, overcome loss of Brendan Rodgers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:01 GMT

Last season, the Rockies’ defense was messy. Warren Schaeffer’s job is to help clean it up.“I like the mix we have going on with some veterans and some young talent,” Schaeffer said during a phone interview from spring training in Scottsdale, Ariz. “And these guys are putting in the sweat, working hard.”Schaeffer, 38, was named Colorado’s third-base and infield coach in November after managing Triple-A Albuquerque for the past two seasons. He’s inherited quite a project, especially with reigning Gold Glove second baseman Brendan Rodgers likely out for the season after undergoing left shoulder surgery.Although Colorado’s overall defense improved significantly in the second half of 2022, its .983 fielding percentage still ranked 12th in the National League. Third baseman Ryan McMahon’s 17 errors were the most by a National League third baseman. And catcher Elias Diaz’s 11 errors were the most in the majors. If the Rocki...

Broncos Journal: What’s left to do for Denver after busy week of free agency? And will a WR get traded?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:01 GMT

The Broncos journal returns for a special, offseason rendition after an active first week of free agency for general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton.1. Denver’s 10-player haul – eight newcomers plus returning linebacker Alex Singleton and safety P.J. Locke – totals right about $235 million in maximum contract value. NFL contracts, of course, aren’t fully guaranteed, but that’s the biggest total value number in the league so far. They’ve given out more than $137 million in total guarantees as well.2. So what comes next? Well, the Broncos are still looking for depth on the offensive line and could add in the secondary, too. Mostly, any further additions in free agency are going to be about roster depth rather than big splashes. After all, Denver started with around $33 million in salary cap space a week ago and now is likely down closer to the $5 million-$7 million range.3. One bigger addition that would make sense for several reasons is Philadelphia safety C.J. Gardne...

Why Sean Payton and the Broncos paid “Senator McGlinchey” to help lead turnaround in Denver

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:01 GMT

Moments before halftime in San Francisco’s divisional round playoff game against Dallas in January, Mike McGlinchey went viral.Rarely does an offensive lineman rocket around the internet for positive reasons, and this was no exception.Sliding up the field to try to slow Cowboys All-Pro Micah Parsons, McGlinchey forfeited just enough balance in search of speed that Parsons got his right arm under McGlinchey’s left armpit and sent him airborne. For many on social media, the sum total of the moment amounted to reacting to the video clip or still image freezing 80 inches and 310 pounds of right tackle essentially horizontal with the ground.Back at his alma mater, though, the moment resonated in a different way. Notre Dame offensive line coach Harry Heistand made sure of it.Just weeks from announcing his retirement after four decades of coaching, Hiestand showed his pupils the play. Then he showed the 49ers punching home a fourth-quarter touchdown run behind McGlinchey’s double-tea...

Avalanche Journal: Sam Girard’s resurgence started after he switched to a longer stick in December

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:01 GMT

MONTREAL — Jared Bednar often notices a direct correlation between a player’s productivity and his equipment tinkering.“If things go well, you’re not going to see them change their sticks much,” the Avalanche coach said, grinning. “If things don’t go well for a while, you could see them change it every day.”Things weren’t going well for Sam Girard in December. As the NHL holiday break approached, the Avalanche defenseman’s point production was down — five in the first 25 games — and his two-way game had dropped off a bit.Initially he thought the slump had something to do with the lingering effects of a broken sternum that knocked him out of the 2022 playoffs. “Maybe the first couple weeks,” Girard said last week. “But after that … nothing was coming, so it was kind of hard mentally.”Queue the equipment tweak. Girard is among the Avs’ shortest players at 5-foot-10, and his hock...