There are moments in Minnesota when the cold does more than freeze lakes and stiffen breath. It interrupts the machinery of daily life. It closes schools, empties buses, quiets playgrounds, and turns the ordinary act of leaving home into a calculation of risk. Friday, January 23, 2026 is one of those days.
Added in the difference in broadband based on location…
For many families, school is not just a place of learning. It is childcare. It is reliable meals. It is heat. It is structure. When buildings close, those supports scatter into private homes that are not equally equipped to absorb the shock.
Hourly workers lose income. Parents working essential jobs face impossible choices. Families without reliable internet struggle to make e-learning function as intended. Rural households with long driveways and limited broadband face isolation compounded by cold. For elders who depend on school transportation staff, school nurses, or community routines connected to schools, the day becomes longer and lonelier.
The cold does not distribute its burden evenly. It presses hardest on those with the fewest buffers.