Preparing for the season's first snow emergency

Snowplows
Plows cleared University Avenue in St. Paul on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009.
MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

Temeratures will be dangerously low tonight, with sub-zero highs across the state overnight, and the falling temps coupled with the snow cover from this week's storm could make for a knuckle-whitening commute.

So, for those of us hitting Twin Cities streets, we wanted to know whether our commutes are also being affected by the tightening city budgets of Minneapolis and St Paul.

All Things Considered talked with Mike Kennedy, director of Winter Operations for Minneapolis Public Work, and Kevin Nelson, a street and bridge maintenance engineer for the city's Public Works department, about the snowy conditions and the precautions people might want to take. Nelson also coordinates the St Paul's snow emergency response.