Minnesotans and ICE alike brace for subzero cold snap

Jennifer Brooks and Chris Hewitt, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 21, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — Even in a state where the unofficial motto is “there is no bad weather, only bad clothing choices,” 20 degrees below zero is pretty bad weather.

Pipes burst. Boiling water tossed in the air freezes to snow before it hits the ground. Every bit of exposed skin hurts.

Now a cold front is about to sweep a week’s worth of bitter subzero temperatures into Minnesota, where locals know how to dress for a polar vortex — but the thousands of ICE agents in town may not.

Protesters kept watch in single-digit cold outside the Whipple Federal Building on Tuesday.

“I don’t care how cold it is. I’m dressed for the weather,” said a bundled-up Brad Brown, his mittens curled around a protest sign.

Former state Rep. Ryan Winkler stood beside him in a Day-Glo orange hunting cap.

“Listen, I’ve been to youth hockey games when it was 20 below and snowing,” Winkler said. “I don’t think this weather is going to hold people back.”

The Department of Homeland Security has not yet responded to a query about plans to protect its personnel from potentially lethal cold. But the Minnesota Department of Health offers helpful tips to stay safe. Hats. Coats. Gloves. Pull a scarf or neck gaiter up over your face until only your ice-rimmed eyelashes are visible.

Minnesotans have been putting that advice into practice for weeks, on the protest lines and as citizen observers while ICE moves through their neighborhoods.

“We could all be safe and warm at home,” said Crystal Kreklow, after dropping off cold-weather supplies for the protesters out in single-digit cold outside the Whipple Federal Building.

She couldn’t stay safe at home, she said, when so many of her neighbors felt unsafe. So she headed to Menard’s to stock up on hats and hand warmers.

The crowd was sparse on Tuesday morning, but the supplies overflowed. There was cold-weather gear, hand and foot warmers, snacks and hot beverages for anyone who needed it. Although the beverages came with a warning that the only available facility — a frigid porta-john — was a half-mile walk away.

“I’ve been here every day – as long as my fingers and my toes will hold out,” said Mike Lamb, a psychologist from Buffalo, N.Y., who flew halfway across the country to spend the coldest week of the year outside with protesting Minnesotans. “I knew I had to be here.”

Minnesota froze his toes but warmed his heart.

“The warmth of the people is amazing,” he said. “The first night I was here, people were bringing burritos, they were bringing pizzas. Food kept arriving, hand warmers kept arriving. It could not have been more inspiring.”

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