Freezing rain, sleet, and snow coated southern Minnesota roads on December 22, 2025, leading to two fatal crashes involving semis and prompting widespread school delays or closures. Around 2 a.m., two northbound trucks collided in the median on Interstate 35 in Freeborn County near Clarks Grove, killing a 46-year-old Miami driver while the other sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Less than six hours later, just before 7:30 a.m., a northbound semi from Minneota and southbound box truck smashed head-on on U.S. Highway 59 in Murray County north of Slayton, claiming the 58-year-old semi driver’s life and critically injuring the 61-year-old trucker from Tyler, who was airlifted to Sioux Falls. The Minnesota State Patrol investigated both incidents amid black ice hazards that turned commutes deadly, underscoring winter driving perils in rural stretches where plows struggled against rapid glaze formation overnight.
Over 20 school districts opted for two-hour late starts including Blooming Prairie, Cedar Mountain, Cleveland, Comfrey, Dover-Eyota, Goodhue, Hayfield, Hutchinson, Lakeview, Lynd, Mankato Area, Minneota, Mountain Lake, New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, St. Clair, Springfield, Wabasso, Waseca, Winona Area, and Zumbrota-Mazeppa to ensure safer bus routes and student arrivals. Plainview-Elgin-Millville and Wabasha-Kellogg shifted to online learning, while Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, Le Sueur-Henderson, Pine Island, Tri-City United, and Triton closed entirely, prioritizing safety as sidewalks and highways from Ortonville to Willmar iced over. The Minnesota Department of Transportation issued no-travel advisories on segments like U.S. Highway 169 between the Twin Cities and Mankato, with closures on State Highway 19 near Gaylord-Henderson and U.S. Highway 212 in McLeod County due to ditches full of vehicles until mid-morning reopenings.
Icy conditions rippled into the Twin Cities metro, where melting mixes created slick spots despite milder forecasts ahead, reminding drivers to check 511mn.org for real-time cams, plow trackers, and alerts from neighboring states. Families juggled delayed school days with cautious errands, while Metro Transit monitored bus impacts via social feeds, and airports like MSP updated flights amid potential ripples. MnDOT urged chains or cautious speeds on bridges and ramps, where refreezing posed ongoing threats through the week as temperatures hovered near freezing before warming trends melted residues.
