Minnesota weather: Xcel hopes to restore power to most by Monday night
Storm damage lingers amid Minneapolis park worker strike
Thousands of people across the metro still don't have power after storms swept through the area over the weekend. Many of the outages are caused by downed trees, a problem usually taken care of by park and rec workers, who remain on strike in Minneapolis.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Xcel Energy says they anticipate power will be restored to most customers in Minnesota by the end of Monday night after weekend storms.
As of Monday afternoon, Xcel says about 12,000 customers remain without power in Minnesota, with the majority of outages impacting people in the west metro. At one point, as many as 135,000 customers were without power. It should be noted that Xcel says the totals listed on the company's website are higher than reality. Xcel currently lists more than 16,000 customers without power.
Xcel says 1,200 workers are currently in the field making repairs to get power back on for the remaining customers.
You can track outages by visiting Xcel's website.
This all comes as we just passed the first 90-degree day of this summer, the latest 90-degree day since 1967. However, it comes as little consolation to those dealing with the heat and humidity without air conditioning or even fans to move a little air to try to get a break from the heat.
Xcel hopes to have power on for the majority of customers (90 percent) by Monday night but warns some work will continue into Tuesday.
Powerful wind gusts and heavy rain left a lot of damage across the metro. The storm hit in the middle of the night, leaving plenty of broken branches, uprooted trees, and downed utility lines. Along with the torrential rain, the storm dropped some large hail. Pictures from viewers in Monticello and Big Lake showed some hail the size of a tennis ball.
Park workers remain on strike in Minneapolis
Thousands of people still don’t have power, with many of the outages caused by downed trees — a problem that's usually taken care of in Minneapolis by park and rec workers who remain on strike in the city.
About 300 park and maintenance workers in Minneapolis walked off the job 12 days ago after working without a contract since the beginning of the year. They are calling for better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
Since the strike began, storms have affected the area, leaving debris behind and causing outages for residents amid the heat.
"The boulevard is the park board's trees. So anything that falls from the boulevard we come out and get it out. All the debris that you normally do have that falls on your yard and you put it on the curb, we normally come and get it. So with that storm happening, I was in the car like oh my god, this is going to be bad for them," explained park worker Lanel Lane.
Meanwhile, the LIUNA Local 363 union said in a post on X that they will return to the bargaining table later Monday and will hold a press conference to update the public on the contract talks.