Minnesota's weird winter weather taking toll on seasonal businesses
MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — Minnesota and Wisconsin have entire economies that rely on winter business.
Snow. Ice. The cold temperatures. They all play a role in keeping certain industries up and running.
But this weird winter weather is taking a toll on the seasonal businesses who rely on the cold.
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Maple Grove's Central Park Ice Skate Loop has been open since Black Friday and has stayed open because it luckily uses the same technology that an indoor hockey rink uses. City leaders tell WCCO the loop has only closed twice for maintenance.
It was closed earlier Tuesday due to some weather-related maintenance, but it's now reopened, and people were eager to get out here.
Maple Grove has more than a half dozen hockey rinks that have not had a chance to even open yet.
"With it being Minnesota, there is quite a need within our community and statewide to have those outdoor sheets of ice," said Zachary Moulton, Maple Grove's recreation facilities supervisor. "It's all day long we're fielding phone calls. But, you know, what I would say is at this moment we're not able to have the outdoor hockey rinks, but we do plan on making the outdoor hockey rinks if the weather does lines up."
And it's not just ice skating. Over in Bloomington, Hyland Hills Ski Area is struggling with the wet, warm December.
"This is Minnesota and I've lived in Minnesota my entire life, and we build businesses on winter," said Kent Kloster, Hyland's operations supervisor. "Whether it be snow removal, ice fishing, downhill skiing. This is a life that we're used to living that is looking a little different this season."
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This time of year is typically the busiest for Hyland, but Kloster tells WCCO they're only at about 25% capacity. He's hoping for 20-degree weather and 2 feet of snow.
Both the loop and Hyland are open until 9 p.m. Tuesday night. Hyland's hours, however, are determined on a week-by-week basis due to the weather.