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We've heard for a while that heating bills will be higher in Minnesota this winter, and now we know just HOW MUCH higher they could be!

According to the US Energy Information Administration, just over two-thirds of Minnesotans (66.1%) use natural gas to heat our homes and keep us warm in the winter. And if you're a part of that 66 percent, like I am, yeah, our natural gas bills ARE going to be higher this winter.

It was back in September that I first read about the possibility of higher heating bills being likely in Minnesota this year. Back then, it was a report from CNBC that said natural gas supplies are more scarce this year, which had already caused prices to increase, and could continue to drive your heating bill up.

But that was before most of us had turned kicked-in our furnaces this fall. Well, now that we have, we also know HOW much higher those heating bills will likely be this winter. According to this CBS-Minnesota story, Minnesota Energy Resources (the natural gas provider for much of Rochester and southeast Minnesota) says the current spike in natural gas prices has forced prices up to a 10-year high.

 

So what does that mean for you and me? Well, Minnesota Energy Resources told Fox 9's Mary McGuire (who used to work here in Rochester at Fox-47) we should be prepared to pay an extra $44 a month on our natural gas and heating bills this winter. And if you consider that we pretty much have the heat on in Minnesota from November through at least March, that's between $220 to $270 MORE we'll all be paying this winter. Ouch!

And it doesn't help that there are several Minnesota cities included on the list of the Coldest Cities in America (including one that looks very familiar!) Keep scrolling to check them out!

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BRRRR: The 15 Coldest Cities in America

You live here. You know how cold it gets, and by now you're probably used to it, but you should probably brace yourself because the National Weather Service issued a La Niña advisory last month and said, "La Niña winters in the southern tier of the US tend to be warmer and drier, while the northern tier and Canada tend to be even colder.

The list below is from Niche. They put together their list of the coldest cities in the county by looking at which ones had "the coldest average low temperatures during the winter months." Keep scrolling to see the 15 coldest cities in the United States.

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