August 27, 2004 5:33 AM

I'll bet you thought hurricanes never travelled to the Upper Midwest

Hurricane hits Minnesota: Florida snowbirds assess damage from Charley

Growing up in northern Minnesota, I became acquainted early on with the term "Snowbirds". These are folks who, through good luck or good business, are fortunate enough to be able to spend their winters in warmer climes, usually Arizona.

Most of these snowbirds head south around mid- to late-October, and stay in the warm weather until late April or early May. Understandably, then, when a hurricane strikes Florida, sometimes the effects can be felt as far away as Minnesota.

The Reids' winter home in sunny Florida has so many neighbors from Minnesota, a few residents dubbed it "Bemidji South."

So when Hurricane Charley blew its destructive path through Punta Gorda more than a week ago, the wallop hit hard nearly 1,700 miles to the north....

The Florida home had been an oasis, a relief from cold winters and a place to connect with friends, those newfound and those who migrate from their home state each winter. That was, until Charley swept through town on Friday the 13th....

Florida has long been a winter destination for northerners, including some communities with a distinctly Minnesota flair.

The Minnesota Twins have a spring training facility about 20 miles south of Punta Gorda in Fort Myers, and many of the state's celebrities and leaders have homes in the Sunshine State.

There are also thousands of regular Minnesotans who flock to the state each winter.

Minnesotans and Minnesota companies own more than 1,600 properties, worth more than $92 million, just in Charlotte County, Fla., according to property assessment records. The county was one of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Charley.

A small group of Reid's relatives, many with ties to the Bemidji area, had bought up locations in Punta Gorda.

Sometimes it's "Bemidji South," other times it's "Minnesota South," Reid said. Their winter home is located on a canal that leads into a harbor of the Gulf of Mexico....

Many Minnesotans are not sure what they'll find when they migrate south for the winter this year.

I would imagine that it's going to look a whole different than it did last winter. It could be worse, though. They could be living in a trailer in SW Florida year-round and trying to put their lives back together. If the worst thing you have to worry about is the condition of your winter home, life can't be too terribly bad, eh?

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on August 27, 2004 5:33 AM.

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