Watch CBS News

How To Stay Safe During Deep Freeze

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (WCCO) -- As a deep freeze descended on the Twin Cities outside, people at the YouthLink center in downtown Minneapolis got a warm welcome inside. The building is normally closed on weekends but because of the dangerously frigid temperatures heading into Saturday night, staff opened the doors through Monday to help homeless youth stay safe.

"People will be able to sleep here, they'll be able to eat, they'll be able to have hot chocolate," said staff member Daeona Griffin.

And if the youth choose to brave the winter blast, donations are on hand to help. YouthLink had boxes of hats and gloves as well as winter coats and thick socks.

"As a community we all got to give back," said Griffin. "I'm just hoping that everyone finds somewhere safe to go."

Not too far from YouthLink is the Salvation Army's Harbor Light Center. The shelter's capacity already increases during the winter months to around 400, but on extremely cold weekends staff say they make room for an extra 30-40 people.

While shelters focus on keeping people warm and out of the cold, police are reminding drivers to keep a closer eye on their vehicles.

"Every year when it gets cold out we start to see auto theft numbers rise," said Sgt. Mike Ernster with the St. Paul Police Department.

He said since Dec. 1, 33 cars have been stolen in the city because people left the cars running and unattended. In one case, he said a suspect stole a car in order to drive it to the airport. He said the suspect left the car at the drop arrival entrance.

"The suspect actually was taken in custody by the airport police as they were trying to board a flight to a warmer climate," he said.

Police talked of another incident in which a driver warmed up his wife's car, then sat in his own car to warm it up. Police said a suspect then jumped into his wife's car and stole it.

"Most of these are somebody needs a ride from point A to point B, the vehicle is sitting there. It's unattended, it's running, they jump in and take it," he said.

Ernster added that thieves will even smash out the window if a door is locked. That's why he suggests drivers sit inside their vehicle as it warms up, as difficult as that might sound.

"Yeah it might be cold, but it's going to be really cold when you're left with no car," he said.

In both Minneapolis and St. Paul, you could get a ticket for leaving your car idling with the keys in it.  And if an officer finds you doing that in St. Paul, they can take your keys to the police station.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.