Lack of cold weather forces Bartz Snow Sculptures to adjust

LINO LAKES, Minn. — Some may love the recent warm weather, but for others, it's bad for business and forcing some activities to pivot or delay. 

Warm and cozy is not an environment that Austin Dartz is used to being in this time of year. 

"We've never had it this warm," Dartz said. 

He would rather be working outside with his brothers. For 10 years now, they've sculpted massive snow creations in New Brighton, all while raising money for clean water in different countries. 

"Usually, what we do is start in early December and then we go until we are finished, which is usually early January. This year we'll be a little more pushed with time," he said. 

Already two weeks behind, their time is spent in the workshop, building snow carving tools to help them catch up once they can get started.

"We're trying things out to be more efficient," he said.

This year, the sculpture will be at Brightwood Hills Golf Course. The city of New Brighton is lending them a snow machine, but with temperatures soaring above freezing, Dartz says even that won't help at this point. 

"We've always had a pile done before today, so it's kind of crazy, but what do you do?" he said.

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It's a helpless feeling that resonates with Blizzard Plowing. 

"We have equipment all over the metro sitting at parking lots that's basically losing us money every time it doesn't snow," owner Jacob Melquist said.

Melquist said his team of 14 contractors usually had hundreds of snow-plowing jobs in December. 

"We've basically canceled advertising, we've stopped working on equipment, we've canceled vacation plans," he said.

He said the team is ready and waiting for when Mother Nature delivers another snowfall. 

Meanwhile, the Dartz brothers are still hopeful they'll be able to finish the big snow sculpture by early January. They encourage people to check their social media for updates.