Call it climate change or just a misrembering of my childhood, but winters (and summers for that matter) have been quite a bit milder than those of my youth. Rain in January was a very rare occurrence when I was kid (as opposed to snow) but now it happens all the time. So to me at least, our winters aren't as legendary as they used to be. In fact, "useful" winter is rather short. Outdoor skating rinks for example are open for two months at most. If they're open anytime in December, it's a gift and the city quits maintaining them by mid February because it gets too warm. I can remember skating on the lake outside my childhood home right around Thanksgiving.

But I digress. I understand that our winters are colder than most of country's. However, we're located in the middle of the continent. There's plenty of land (and people) in the Great White North where it's colder than it is here

Oh, and I should add that Minneapolis and St. Paul shouldn't be confused with places like Ely or International Falls, MN that frequently make the news as having the "coldest temp" in the lower 48. They are quite a ways from here up near the Canadian border. It's practically tropical in the Twin Cities by comparison For fun, those folks like to cut a hole in the ice, jump in, get out, sit in a sauna for a while, and then jump in again. Generates a strange feeling of euphoria. Having experienced this on a winter camping trip last year, my contention is that the feeling of euphoria comes from having survived it.