For Metro Plow & Tow Truck Drivers, Relentless Snow Is Boom, Bane

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- When the snow stopped falling Tuesday afternoon, nearly 6 inches piled up in the Twin Cities. Add that to the similar amount that fell Sunday and the total for the month of February hits 21.6 inches -- making it the fourth-snowiest February in the Twin Cities on record.

Both Minneapolis and St. Paul declared snow emergencies, the third of the winter season.

It is a hustle that so many of us know too well lately. The hustle to dig yourself out, knowing a tow truck bill is just hours away. The hustle to make sure sidewalks and parking lots are clear. And the hustle to turn piles of snow into a paycheck.

Brandon Serpette runs 3 Bears Landscaping, plowing snow for homes and businesses from Minneapolis to Edina. He says they have accumulated 125 accounts, with another 100-plus customers on a wait list. It is a number that's grown during our snowy month of February.

"Business is very busy," Serpette said. "We're probably just not going to advertise snow removal anymore, just because of the high demand and really, it's just going to be referral only."

In a 12-hour shift, Nick the plow driver will hit 45 properties, places he's become quite familiar with recently.

"I tell my crews, if you guys want to get out of the snow removal business, we got to make more revenue in the landscaping season," Serpette said.

Sometimes you just have to laugh, even when things go wrong, like when Minneapolis resident Dan Jensen's shovel snapped in half.

"We just got these shovels, the ice and snow is so packed down that I seem to have broken it," Jensen said.

Time to improvise, and hustle.

"Not going want to shovel tomorrow morning before coffee," Jensen said.

In Minneapolis, the towing fee is $138, and $18 per day it spends here. In St. Paul, it costs $202 to release your car the day it's towed, and $15 for each additional day.