To Minneapolis-St. Paul placing No. 1.

The Weather Channel listed America’s 20 Coldest Major Cities, and by its calculations Minneapolis-St. Paul was No. 1. The TV channel’s website said the “Twin Cities’ all-time record low was minus-41 degrees set on Jan. 21, 1888. On average, subzero cold occurs 24 to 25 days each year, while subfreezing temperatures occur 151 days a year there.”

They say — whoever “they” are — Minnesota is a state that can be hard for corporations to get employees to move to but even harder to get them to move away from. Yes, it’s cold here, but our fine people and quality of life make up for it. Besides, the decrease in sunlight in winters is harder to deal with for most Minnesotans than the cold temperatures, but our summers make up for it with long, beautiful days.

 

To homicide defendant Tyrone Washington Jr.

The case is slated to be tried in Fort Dodge, Iowa, so whatever opinions we share won’t affect the jury pool. That noted, we have something to say. Most defendants go through pretrial months in the usual manner, following routines and often quietly staying out of the limelight, then suddenly there is a big trial that gets covered by local media. Washington, by continually fighting his public defender and the judicial system, keeps finding his way into the press. We cover items such as requests to get a new taxpayer-funded lawyer and subsequent withdrawals of those requests. This is twice now he has done it. Washington complained about being in the press during his push for a change of venue, but he appears to not mind taking actions that clearly garner press coverage. Let’s hope he has settled on his lawyer finally, and we will hear from him again in June during the trial.

 

To Iowa State University men’s and women’s basketball programs.

It’s not often that Iowa State gets attention in the Gopher State, but the university just two hours down the interstate from the border, as of Friday, was the only NCAA Division I school with undefeated men’s and women’s basketball teams. The men and women as of Friday both were 13-0. The Associated Press last week ranked the men No. 9 and the women No. 11. Both teams played games on Saturday, so the undefeated status may have changed by the time readers get this. It’s great having the ISU teams go toe to toe with some of the best basketball teams in the country and still come away with victories. It requires players who have come together as teams. These selfless kind of teams are always the best to follow. Good luck, Cyclones, on what’s shaping up to be memorable seasons. Coaches Fred Hoiberg and Bill Fennelly deserve kudos, too.