Minnesota National Guard activated to help rescue motorists at request of Renville County Sheriff's Office

Dec. 23—Editor's note: This story has been updated since original publication with additional information from the Minnesota Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

ST. PAUL — The Renville County Sheriff's Office requested Minnesota National Guard assistance to rescue stranded motorists and provide local armories as emergency shelters.

Gov. Tim Walz on Friday issued the necessary executive order to declare a peacetime emergency and provide the requested National Guard assistance for stranded motorists in southwestern Minnesota, according to a news release from the governor's office.

Approximately 50 motorists are staying at four shelters in southwestern Minnesota, including, the armories in Olivia and Willmar, the Minnesota Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said in a tweet Friday evening.

They were rescued by National Guard members and local law enforcement using specialty vehicles, tracked ATVs and snowmobiles, according to the tweets.

"Minnesota and the country are experiencing extreme winter weather, dangerous temperatures, and unsafe road conditions," said Gov. Walz in the news release announcing his executive order. "Every Minnesotan deserves a safe holiday, and the Minnesota National Guard will help stranded motorists and ensure everyone can travel safely. I am incredibly grateful that the National Guard has answered this call to action, and I'm confident that they have the right personnel and resources for this mission."

This week's powerful winter storm with heavy snowfall, strong winds and extreme cold temperatures has created blizzard conditions in Minnesota, closing roads and threatening public safety, the governor's office stated in the release. These dangerous conditions have resulted in stranded vehicles, placing lives and property at risk. The resources of the affected local and county governments are inadequate to meet the demands caused by these severe winter weather conditions.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation on Friday afternoon issued four back-to-back notices over a 2 1/2 -hour period announcing the majority of the roads in southwest Minnesota were closed, from the Willmar area all the way to the South Dakota and Iowa borders.

The blizzard warning in the Willmar area, including Renville County, was to expire at 6 a.m. Saturday, but the National Weather Service said patchy blowing snow and lingering poor travel conditions would linger into Saturday, and another round of light snow was forecast across southwest Minnesota from late Sunday into Monday morning.

The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in a 7 p.m. update on Twitter said rescue operations are ongoing in Renville and Freeborn counties for an unknown number of people still stranded.