Clearing Our Highways of Snow And Ice Jan. 6 2017
I'm sure all of you reading this article have experienced one of Minnesota's extreme winters! It snows, it blows, ice forms, and this winter it even rained. All of these conditons affect the many roads here in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Transportation, MNDOT, is responsible for doing their best and using today's technology to make the roads passable to the many citizens of the state.
Even with all of today's technology for detecting the weather, sometimes it doesn't always come at the projected time or in the estimated amount. With that being said, a Department of Transportation worker has to be available on the nights and weekends, besides the regular day shifts.
There are various types of equipment used to turn around the conditon of the road. One of them is the truck mounted plow. This device is attached to the front of the truck. A wing and underbody scraper are also used. The wing is used as a plow extension to help clear a wider path. The underbody scraper is used to remove snow and ice at higher speeds with a greater downward pressure. The last piece of equipment used is a road grader. This is used mainly for deep snow and pushing back big snow drifts.
Along with the various types of equipment used to remove snow there are also 3 different substances used to melt the compacted snow and ice. The DOT uses salt, salt treated with mangnesium chloride and salt brine, which is water saturated with salt. Salt is used all the time to melt the snow and ice away from the roads. Treated salt and salt brine come into play depending on the thickness of snow or ice to be removed, upcoming forcast, and current air and road temperature.
My dad is part of the workforce that clears the highway of snow and ice. He is one of the seven operators at the Luverne, Minnesota DOT depot. His route is 35 miles or 70 miles round trip. So the next time you see a big orange truck caring for our winter roads, give them a BRAKE, and DON'T CROWD THE PLOW!
6 Students From Bethlehem Lutheran Head to Slayton Oct. 30 2016
For the first time, 6 confirmation students and their pastor, Maggie, set out to Shetek Lutheran Ministries Bible Camp at Lake Shetek in Slayton, Minnesota for a confirmation retreat. The students, along with Maggie, left Hills on Thursday and returned on Friday.
The students learned about the affirmation of baptism service and what the various parts symbolized and meant. They also played games, in the gym and outside, and enjoyed a bonfire."My favorite part was probably Thursday night when we played basketball in the gym." Grace Bundesen said.
Grace Bundesen, Alexia Boltjes, Madison Spath, Bailey Swan, Luke LaRock, and Jaxon Steensma all attended this new adventure. This was also requirement for getting confirmed besides attending classes for 2 years and obtaining service points by participating in a church service, volunteering at a church event, or by taking sermon notes. In past years the students had written a profession of faith as the final step towards their confirmation, or affirmation of baptism. The students will affirm their baptism on October 30th, 2016 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hills, Minnesota.