By Craig Wilkins

Mankato’s Gordon Regenscheid referred to the storms that hit Minnesota on March 1-4 as ‘Halloween II.’

He wasn’t talking about the movie.

The reference was to the Halloween blizzard of 1991.

“Both storms had around 18 inches of wet, heavy snow followed by strong winds and a temperature dive that limited the effectiveness of chemicals to remove compaction,” said Regenscheid, assistant district engineer for maintenance operations.

And as with the Halloween blizzard or any major storm, there was a whole lot of work to do in order to get roads cleared and traffic moving again.

According to several supervisors and managers, the March storms brought out exceptional teamwork, resourcefulness and dedication from Mn/DOT employees.

Midway into the March 1-4 storms, District 7 managers made a decisive move. Rather than continue splitting plowing shifts, they brought all of the district’s resources together on the morning of March 2 to hit the storm as hard and as fast as possible during daylight hours.

Maintenance crews mobilized all of their equipment that could plow, scrape or push compacted snow and ice and huge, wind-blown drifts.  

In addition to snowplow trucks, Mankato fielded 10-ton trucks, motor graders and snow blowers, including a 1960s vintage dual-engine SnoGo blower.

Mechanics at Mankato got them ready to roll and fixed them when they came back. In some cases, field mechanics including Lee Bennett and Mike Underwood ventured out to make on-the-spot repairs.

Their efforts typify the work done in shops and offices that keep the plows and plow operators in business.

One operator brought his snowplow back to the Mankato shop with flames shooting from its rear brakes. Mechanic Dave Ivers calmly extinguished the fire, then starting replacing the brake drums, axle ends and other damaged parts.    

Six hours later, the tandem was ready for action.

“We were busy with the usual stuff—broken hoses, replacing wiper arms and motors and fixing lighting equipment,” said Jim Clark, also a heavy equipment mechanic at Mankato. “It was pretty normal; we just had to be here real early in the morning to keep it all moving.”

Just down the hall from every Mn/DOT shop there is an inventory center that supplies mechanics with replacement parts.

In District 1, the inventory staff was down to one person per shift at Duluth and Virginia because employees were either stranded at home or plowing snow.  

Patrick Burke, transportation materials supervisor, said staff at both locations manned the parts counter to make sure mechanics and plow operators got replacement parts and other gear needed to keep operations going.

Key roles also were filled by the radio technicians from the Office of Electronic Communications assigned to each district and by district dispatchers and support staff.

At District 3, radio technicians Doug Hagenson and Jeff Teske maintained the radio systems used by Mn/DOT and the State Patrol in operation, ensuring that essential communications links kept working during the storm.

Public affairs staff, dispatchers and transportation management operations employees kept information about the fast-moving storms current for Mn/DOT and other state agency staff, the news media and the public.

Concerted efforts bring praise

Supervisors and managers were quick to praise all the employees whose efforts made a coordinated and effective response to the storm possible.

“Our folks did one great job; they went many extra miles to help the public and displayed great teamwork while doing it,” said Tim Sheehy, District 1 maintenance supervisor at Virginia.

Sheehy also cited Steve Baublitz, sub-area supervisor at Two Harbors, who took several stranded motorists to safety while working on the Hwy 61 expressway between Two Harbors and Duluth. See story below.

Just after the storms ended, Lt. Gov./Commissioner Carol Molnau sent a note to all employees about their performance during the storms.

“The way the department responded to these storms reinforces my respect for you all and your abilities,” she wrote in her e-mail message.  

“Many times when commended for one action or another, Mn/DOT people will usually say ‘Well, I was just doing my job.’

“I won’t try to change that, but please accept my gratitude and respect for you and the jobs you do so well.”

By Craig Wilkins

The snowstorms of March 1-4 hit Duluth/District 1 extremely hard.

Wind gusts reached 60 miles an hour at times and as much as 20 inches of snow fell across the Arrowhead Region.  

Steve Baublitz, sub-area supervisor at the Two Harbors truck station, said the storms created tough going for both the public and his crews at the Two Harbors, Illgen City and Grand Marais truck stations.  

They plow Hwy 61 from Duluth to the Canadian border, a distance of about 150 miles.

During an early evening patrol on March 1, Baublitz found a tow truck and two cars stuck along the highway. He freed the tow truck and its driver who, in turn, extricated the two cars and their occupants. A few miles later, a semitrailer driver, who had pulled over because he couldn’t see, joined the impromptu convoy that Baublitz led safely into Duluth.

“At 11 p.m., the State Patrol asked us to help an ambulance reach a seriously injured person living on a county road about seven miles from Two Harbors,” Baublitz said. St. Louis County had pulled their plows off the road during the afternoon.

Transportation workers Loris Crimmins and Ken Langanki volunteered to take their single-axle snowplows, but both plows and the ambulance became mired in heavy drifts on the county road.

After learning it would take several more hours before his crewmates would return, Baublitz went out to plow Hwy 61 to Duluth before the snow and wind forced it shut.

As he headed south, Baublitz discovered a mother and two small children huddled in their snow-bound minivan. He dug out the vehicle and escorted it into Duluth.

While plowing his way back to Two Harbors, Baublitz was informed at 3 a.m. that the county had responded to the ambulance call.

“The county sent a fully loaded, tandem-axle plow, so they all were all able to dig their way out and get the injured person to the hospital safely,” Baublitz said.

Flooding triggered by snowstorm runoff and frozen ground and ice jams forced closing roads in Browns Valley in District 4 and near Elba in District 6.

The Whitewater River in Winona County overflowed its banks March 13, flooding Hwy 74 between Beaver and Weaver, said Dave Redig, maintenance superintendent at Rochester. Roads will be closed until further notice.

Officials at Morris closed Hwy 27 and Hwy 28 near Browns Valley March 13 when flooding from the Little Minnesota River and overland flooding covered parts of both highways. Hwy 28 just east of the Minnesota/South Dakota border was closed for several hours; Hwy 27 north of Browns Valley remains closed.

Dean Olson, maintenance superintendent at Morris, said Hwy 28 east of Browns Valley also was covered by water but crews were directing traffic through that section of the highway.

Olson reported that floodwaters in the area are beginning to recede.

District officials said they will closely monitor other potential flood sites including highways near the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River and several flood-prone areas in southeastern Minnesota.

By Judy Jacobs

Bob Steinmetz’s co-workers remember him as a generous and considerate man who was active in charitable fundraising and who enjoyed the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing with family and friends.

Steinmetz, a transportation generalist in Detroit Lakes, died March 5 from complications of a staph infection he contracted during routine knee replacement surgery. He had been recovering at Innovis Health Center in Fargo when he died.

“He was such a great guy and really enjoyed his job,” said John Gobel, who worked in building maintenance with Steinmetz. “When I visited him in the hospital he always talked about how he wanted to get back to work.”

Steinmetz, 51, began his career with Mn/DOT in 1989 as a temporary laborer in the Detroit Lakes District sign shop. He worked as a seasonal laborer until January 2000, when he was promoted to transportation generalist in building maintenance. Before joining Mn/DOT, Steinmetz worked at Bergen’s Nursery for 15 years and as a part-time city employee at the Detroit Lakes Sports Arena.  

“Bob was always great to work with and he was so proud to be a Mn/DOT employee,” said Bruce Olson, Steinmetz’s supervisor in the sign shop. “He was always very generous and considerate of his co-workers feelings. We will certainly miss him.”                        

Jim Utecht, who worked with Steinmetz on the field crew, agreed.

“Mn/DOT was such a big part of Steinie’s life,” he said. “He was also very active in the Knights of Columbus and participated in many fundraisers for area charities.”

“Steinie was just a likable, friendly guy who would do whatever he could for a person,” added Lyle ‘Rudy’ Rudolph, another field crew member.

Surviving Steinmetz are his mother, four brothers, two sisters and many other relatives and friends.

Jim Klessig, a program administrator with the Research Services Section, died March 9 after a brief illness. He was 66. Funeral services were held March 13-14 in Inver Grove Heights.

Survivors include his spouse, Lynn Klessig, brothers, nieces and nephews.

Before joining Mn/DOT in 1997, Klessig held various posts including serving as a university and county librarian and operating a sales promotion firm in Madison, Wis.

He earned two degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee—a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in library and information studies.

At Mn/DOT, Klessig served in various roles in Research Services. Before he became ill, he managed federal funds that support Mn/DOT-related research programs.

Corey Johnson, research management engineer, Klessig’s former supervisor, said he was thorough in his work and wanted to do “the right things right.”

Johnson said Klessig was diligent in ensuring that his work was accurate and very aware of how his work affected others and their responsibilities.

Klessig, Johnson said, was adept at resolving conflicts.

“He was the kind of guy who was gifted at identifying problem situations and finding a way to keep personal issues out of the conflict,” Johnson said. “Once the conflict was resolved, he was also very good at finding solutions.”

Johnson said his only conflict with Klessig came during a performance review last year when he complained that Johnson did not set agendas for their regular staff meetings.

“I’ve used an agenda for staff meetings ever since then,” he said.

As of March 9, Mn/DOT has a new management structure that includes five divisions instead of six and realigns offices from the former Operations, Safety and Technology Division with complementary functions in the other divisions.

“This new structure maintains clear lines of accountability and continues our effort to streamline management, coordinate like functions and focus on operations,” Lt. Gov./Commissioner Carol Molnau said in a memo to Mn/DOT managers and supervisors.

She noted that the recent departures of three top level managers from the agency offered “the opportunity to take a fresh look at our organization and make revisions that will position us to meet the challenges of the future.”

Finance and Administration Division - Kevin Gray, director

This division will continue to manage Mn/DOT’s finances and provide leadership for agency diversity, human resources and general support areas. The new Office of Human Resources and Administration is intended to strengthen the link between the business processing and human resources functions. This new office also includes the Facilities Section from the Maintenance office, reflective of its agency support role. In addition, the Office of Civil Rights has moved from the Finance and Administration Division and now reports directly to the deputy commissioner in order to provide more visibility for the program.

Planning, Modal and Data Management Division - Tim Henkel, director

The new division name better reflects the importance of performance-based planning and highlights its role in the department, according to Molnau. This division also includes the Office of Transportation Data and Analysis and the Office of Decision Support (formerly Information Technology) to highlight the role these offices play in supporting performance management and decision-making.

Engineering Services Division - Rick Arnebeck, director

The division remains unchanged and will continue to support the districts in delivering projects and managing roads by providing engineering guidance, standards, training and expertise. Rick Arnebeck previously directed the former Operations, Safety and Technology Division.   

State Aid for Local Transportation - Julie Skallman, director

The SALT Division will continue to work with cities and counties on projects and issues. In addition, the division now includes the Office of Electronic Communications in order to help deploy the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response system to state and local governments.

Operations Division - Bob Winter, director

The renamed Office of Traffic, Safety and Operations and the Office of Maintenance and Security (a combination of the offices of Maintenance and Homeland Security) now join the district offices within the Operations Division. This change in structure signals Mn/DOT’s intent to better integrate these functions with district operations.  

For more information, see Mn/DOT's organizational chart.

Editor’s note: Statewide, Mn/DOT received several dozen thank-you’s by phone, e-mail and U.S. mail for its recent snow removal efforts. Here are a few of them.