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Minnesota Couple's Texas Getaway Turns Into Scramble To Find Food As Ice Dominates State

This story was originally published on Tuesday, Feb. 16

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Twin Cities couple says the cold and snow has virtually frozen Texas to a halt, and has them scrambling for food.

Millions of Texans are without power as the state tries to recover from record-breaking cold, and more than half a foot of snow. But St. Louis Park couple Morgan Staloch and Tyler Battle, who are stuck on their vacation, say the ice is the real problem.

"It doesn't seem like they have salt or plows or any capability to deal with it," Battle said.

They say their weekend trip to Austin will be a pretty memorable vacation, to say the very least.

Tyler Battle and Morgan Staloch
Tyler Battle and Morgan Staloch (credit: CBS)

"The snow? It's like nothing," Staloch said. "Cars are stuck just right out our window, it just looks like a normal day for us [in Minnesota]."

The storm canceled their flight home on Sunday, and they quickly found out that it also shut down the city. They didn't eat Monday because they couldn't find any restaurants or stores that were open.

"We went to CVS yesterday, it looked like the start of COVID. The shelves were just clean, bare," Staloch said. "People are definitely in a chaos panic, but I think it's kind of, people are trying to stay positive."

People Lined Up Outside Austin Texas IHOP During Winter Blast
(credit: Morgan Staloch)

They eventually ordered from an IHOP restaurant, which was a victory -- but then they waited two hours in line outside with dozens of others for their food. They now have protein bars and snacks to hold them over.

Since their weekend trip turned into a week-long stay, they didn't bring laptops and aren't able to work remotely

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