Jun 23, 2009 5:46 pm US/Central
Minnesotans Enjoy Heat, While Others Work In It
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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Water is available at every job site and so is vital information. MnDOT hands out tip sheets at each of their job sites. They tell workers how to take care of themselves, each other and how to detect signs of heat stroke.
CBS
In the 90-plus degree weather that feels more like the Bahamas than the Twin Cities, some people flourish.
On Tuesday afternoon, volleyball players at Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis embraced the heat, for a while anyway.
"It's great and it sucks at the same time. You have to make sure you are hydrated the whole time," said volleyball player Brandon Kuntz.
At the beach the objective was the same -- stay hydrated and stay cool.
"I will not complain because six months from now I will be freaking out about how cold it is," said Jessica Lindemann.
The chance to cool off at Lake Calhoun is as easy as jumping into the lake. Others don't have it so simple.
For Minnesota Department of Transportation construction workers it is all work and no play. There is nothing in their union contract that says they can stop working when the thermometer reaches a certain temperature.
Water is available at every job site and so is vital information. MnDOT hands out tip sheets at each of their job sites. They tell workers how to take care of themselves, each other and how to detect signs of heat stroke.
"We encourage our workers to use a buddy system. Kind of watch out for each other because that's who is going to be closest to them," said MnDOT spokesman Beth Petrowske. "They look for signs of heat stroke, headaches, nausea, malaise, red complexions, things like that."
Some MnDOT employees can work as long as 14 hours a day in the heat. They are currently working on more than 20 projects and several maintenance projects across the Twin Cities.
Some of those included fixing paved roads that have buckled due to the heat. MnDOT workers said it quite a difference compared to two weeks ago when highs were in the 50s.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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