Minnesotans survive polar siege, revel in spring

As temperatures tipped into the 70s Wednesday, many Minnesotans declared it the first real day of spring and reveled in the sunshine.

"It's nice to see the grass again and the sunshine -- it's nice that it dried up so quickly and isn't muddy," said Clara Iwaszek, an assistant teacher at Cathedral Hill Montessori School, as she watched her students play in the playground across the street at Boyd Park in St. Paul. "It's kind of like a perfect spring that started today."

She says the weather will save her time --- no more putting snow pants on her kids and wrestling with jackets for 30 minutes, she said.

"Hopefully it won't snow again. Since it hasn't gone below freezing this week, my fingers are crossed that this is officially the start of spring," Iwaszek said. "But this is Minnesota, so you never know."

PJ Lloyd was on her way back to her car after dropping off her dogs in St. Paul when she said she missed seeing the sun, birds, people and kids. "Everyone's been holed up for six months," she said. She also missed the spring air. "Just smelling the air, it smells so good, it smells warm," Lloyd said.

The warm air just puts everyone in a good mood, she said. "You feel more optimistic. You feel hopeful," she explained. "Just everything is back. Everything."

The first thing she wanted to do when it got nice out again was sit out on a patio and enjoy a glass of wine, she said. She can also start looking forward to riding her Vespa and walking her dogs, she said. "We can go on longer walks, and ones that I can actually tolerate," she said.

Emma Awasom, 20, of Forest Lake, walked to her friend's car, Elizabeth Moenck, 22, of St. Paul, with a smile, asking her friend if she had an extra pair of sunglasses. She hasn't been able to say that in a while, Awasom said. The first thing she wants to do is go to the beach and be able to go sidewalk shopping again.

Noenck immediately opened the sunroof in her red car before buckling up. What's the first thing she wants to do with the nice weather? "Wash my car," Moenck said with a smile.

Construction company workers also soaked in the sun. Ryan Wagner and Zach Chappel took apart wooden lining that used to hold an air conditioning unit outside the building that used to hold Costello's Bar & Grill in St. Paul.

Rick Unger's work had a first Wednesday --- it was the first day after this winter that he and his construction team were able to pour concrete inside the building. "We haven't had a chance until today," he said. He dodged a puddle to get equipment out of the bed of his truck, and said he is watching the ice on the lakes closely now until the ice goes out, so he can take his boat out, he said.

"It's getting close," he said. "The ice is turning black." He likes to fish and water ski on Snail Lake and White Bear Lake, he said.

He repeated what many have said for months: "This winter was brutal."