OWATONNA, Minn.—When Robert Sackrider told his old boss he’d haul some paint supplies from Canada to Iowa, he knew just a few hours in he should have stayed retired.
“It’s just been hell,” said Sackrider. “You couldn’t see the front of the truck.”
First stopped by a North Dakota ground blizzard, Robert thought by the time he reached southern Minnesota his trip would be easy.
Until he got to Owatonna.
“In all my years, I’ve never seen it snow this much,” said Sackrider.
Monday night he was one of dozens of truck drivers stuck near the on ramp of 35W, the interstate closed all the way to Albert Lea with seven foot snowdrifts blocking both lanes.
While plows work nonstop to clear the snow, the National Guard is rescuing stranded drivers.
Many are sleeping at the Owatonna armory, a hundred people on cots for the third straight night.
“At least I’m here,” said Robert Beier, who lives just a few miles away but can’t get home. “(I’m not) stranded my vehicle. It’s warm. (I have a) place to sleep.”
Monday night, Robert settles in for another night too, already deciding that his next trip will have sand, not snow.
“When I get home,” he said, “I’m leaving for Florida.”
Closure leaves drivers stuck in Owatonna
While plows work nonstop to clear the snow, the National Guard is rescuing stranded drivers.