No One Warned New Minnesotan About Our Wednesday Tradition
Every first Wednesday of the month across the state of Minnesota we test out the tornado sirens to make sure they are in working order. If you aren't from here, the experience can be a bit jarring... like it was for this news reporter a few years ago:
Comedian Kelsey Cook was at Acme Comedy Company last month. Cook is from Spokane, Washington and during her routine at Acme she lamented the fact that no one bothered to give her a heads-up about the sirens blaring every week when she moved to Minnesota.
"I think it's cool you guys don't tell people when they move here about your monthly tornado horn tests.... Two weeks into living here I woke up to the sounds of World War Two sirens, thought I had 30 seconds left of my life."
She's not wrong. I mean, just listen to this and imagine you had absolutely no background knowledge on why this was happening. It would be terrifying!
This was a tough situation for my kid as well! We went outside to play one beautiful, sunny Wednesday afternoon and I had totally forgotten about the damn sirens, one of which is, of course, seemingly located about ten feet from my front door. A lifelong fear of the siren has ensued.
We now make sure to give him a heads-up during the morning when it is siren day so he can mentally prepare for a bit. It's still a sore subject in our home, he seems to think I had him out there on purpose.
Until recently I didn't know that the sirens were not something most states did and that they were relatively native to Minnesota. You learn something new every day I guess.