State and local crews are preparing for the winter storm coming into the area this weekend. Mankato streets superintendent Joe Grabianowski says they're ready to go. "Our trucks roll as soon as the snow starts falling," said Grabianowski. "We keep the trucks on the road round the clock. We don't pull them." Grabianowski says if you see a plow out on city streets this weekend to give them plenty of room. "Just stay back. Give us some time. Give us some room and let us get our job done," said Grabianowski. Grabianowski says there will be 23 plows working the streets [...]

State Senator Julie Rosen of Vernon Center says she supports the concept of state bonding. "Bonding is extremely important to the communities of St. James, Vernon Center, Fairmont, and Jackson in all my district, " said Rosen. "It's something I support." But Rosen says it must be done in a responsible way. "You don't want to put borrow so much that it puts the state into debt for 30 years," said Rosen. "While a good argument can be made that interest rates are cheap, it still costs a lot of money to borrow money. We have up to 775 million dollars [...]

When winter weather creates travel havoc, authorities recommend if you don't have to travel stay home. But if you have to be on the roadways, Troy Christianson with the Minnesota State Patrol says be prepared. "It's important to have a safety kit," said Christianson. "Also make sure your cell phone is charged in case you get in trouble. Have some water and a blanket. If you do get stuck, keep your car running with your window down a bit, make sure your exhaust is clear and make sure you stay in your vehicle so if another vehicle goes in the ditch [...]

The entire area will be under a Winter Storm Warning beginning at ten a.m. this morning and continuing until six p.m. Saturday night. Jacob Beitlich from the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities says the storm will come in two parts. "The first part will be later this morning into early afternoon, " said Beitlich. "We will see snowfall rates of an inch to an inch and a half per hour. There will be a little bit of a break tonight but a cold front comes into tomorrow and that will increase the winds to up to 40 miles per [...]

A Montgomery woman was injured in a two-vehicle accident in Le Sueur County Thursday morning. The Minnesota State Patrol says vehicles driven by 62-year-old Kristi Burtzel of Montgomery and 29-year-old Tyler Kispert of Cleveland collided in the intersection of 199th Avenue and Highway 99 around quarter to seven. Authorities say the roads were snow and ice-covered at that time. The State Patrol says Burtzel was taken to New Prague Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

A North Mankato man is facing four offenses after authorities responded to a burglary in progress last Sunday in Mankato. Blue Earth County court records say 26-year-old Mahad Mohamud has been charged with two counts of first-degree burglary and two counts of fifth-degree assault. Authorities say Mohamud is accused of breaking into a residence and getting into a physical encounter with an individual at the residence.

Charges have been filed against a Mankato man whose actions closed Highway 22 for a short time last May. Blue Earth County court records say 34-year-old Daniel Devens was charged with theft, two counts of tampering with a motor vehicle without the owner's permission and causing a public nuisance. Authorities say Devens was accused of stealing a skid loader, moving rocks to and removing them from Highway 22 in the early morning hours of May 27th.

State Senator Rich Draheim of Madison Lake says it's too costly to bond over two billion dollars. That's his reaction to Governor Walz's bonding proposal, which was released over the past week. "We still have to pay this money back. It's not free money," says Draheim. "We do have a surplus and that could possibly be used for some of these projects." Draheim says he's not questioning the worthiness of the projects. "Most of the projects are worthy, it's just a case of prioritizing," says Draheim. Draheim says the state spends more on servicing debt then they do on overall bonding [...]

The area is under a wind chill advisory this morning. A winter storm watch will go in effect Friday morning at nine a.m. and continue until Saturday evening at six p.m. Joe Calderone is with the National Weather Service in Chahassen. "The system is only coming on-shore in the Pacific Northwest this morning," said Calderone. "It's a pretty powerful and deep low-pressure system with a lot of pacific moisture. By the time it gets here it will combine with moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. So putting all these ingredients together, we're going to see a lot of snow [...]

With the weather expected to cause travel headaches this weekend, if you have to be on the roads take your time according to Troy Christianson with the Minnesota State Patrol. "A lot of the crashes we see is drivers driving too fast for the conditions," said Christianson. "So watch your speed and travel a speed that's safe for the conditions." Christianson says it's important to have a safety kit with water and a blanket in case you get stuck and a charged up cell phone in case you do get stuck.