Alerts issued as smoke from Canadian wildfires makes for unhealthy air in northern Minnesota

Tim Harlow, Star Tribune on May 30, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Much of northeastern Minnesota remains under air quality alert Friday, while a second alert covering the northwestern part of the state will go into effect on Saturday.

In both cases, the alerts come as smoke from Canadian wildfires filters into the state, making the air unhealthy. The smoke contains fine particles that can cause harm to respiratory and cardiovascular systems, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said.

The alert covering Cook, St. Louis, Lake and Carlton counties in northeastern Minnesota will be in effect until 6 p.m. Friday.

“People with lung disease, asthma, heart disease, and children and older adults should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion. The general public should limit prolonged or heavy exertion,” the National Weather Service said.

In northwestern Minnesota, an alert for unhealthy air in effect from 6 a.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday “could be a significant smoke event, with potential health impacts for all populations,” the Weather Service said.

Affected counties include Clay, Becker, Marshall, Otter Tail, Polk, Grant, Hubbard, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Clearwater, Pennington, Red Lake, Roseau, Pennington, Wadena and Beltrami.

Most of Wisconsin is also under air quality alerts, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

No alerts were in effect for the Twin Cities as of Friday morning, but “areas of smoke” are possible Friday night and Saturday, the Weather Service said. The Twin Cities were experiencing “moderate” air quality on Friday.

To help reduce pollution, activities such as outdoor burning should be avoided and driving and vehicle idling should be reduced as much as possible, the MPCA said.

_____