High winds and damaged trees responsible for power outages this week

Following widespread power outages on Wednesday, Arrowhead Cooperative CEO John Twiest told WTIP, “The Arrowhead system overall did very well. We only sustained three outages.” He added that while one was a large outage, the other two were more minor.

Twiest pointed to strong winds, some gusting as high as 50 miles per hour, as the cause of the power disruptions. He said that a downed tree was responsible for the county-wide blackout on Wednesday afternoon. Great River Power, who provides the power to Arrowhead Cooperative, was able to engage their backup generator to restore power to customers as they worked to repair the damaged transmission line.

Great River is based in Cloquet, and when power is disrupted, they work with the local linemen from Arrowhead to expedite repairs. “Our guys found the tree where it was located, sent that information to Great River energy so they could drive right to the spot and get ready to do what they needed to do.”

As winter sets in across Minnesota, Twiest said it is important for residents to be prepared for unexpected events, like power outages. He said that the past several years have included and increase in instances where sustained strong winds cause outages. He suggests that households maintain emergency kits, and that residents consider what appliances and frequently used items run on electricity, and consider how they will manage things like cooking or staying worm without them.

Twiest added that in the event of a power outage, it is important for customers to report the event to Arrowhead, and to stay engaged for updates. He said that if they are able to tell that an outage could be prolonged, Arrowhead will communicate that through social media and local news sources, in addition to their own website.

John Twiest spoke to Steph Vos live on North Shore Morning. Audio of that interview is below.

Kirsten Wisniewski November 29, 2025