If you're from Minnesota, Florida's chill seems balmy

This might not be the best of weeks to visit Florida.

But one Brainerd woman doesn't regret the fact she's spending the week in North Palm Beach. Even with the temperatures plunging in the South she figures she's still 70 to 80 degrees warmer than were she still in Brainerd.

Monica Nieman, marketing coordinator for the Dispatch, was watching the television news Wednesday while talking about the weather.

"It's huge news down here," she said. "They say it could get down to 30 degrees in the morning. Then we'll have a heat wave and it could reach 65."

Nieman said the North Palm Beach temperature was 54 degrees during the dinner hour.

"I went walking on the beach with a fleece sweatshirt, scarf and flip-flops.

"I didn't care. The ocean water was really warm. I was the only person in the water that wasn't wearing a wet suit.

"Everybody says it's so cold. At least it's not zero."

And the white stuff is sand, not snow.