Skies clear over Minnesota as smoke lifts east [Video]

MINNEAPOLIS — The blue is back.

Skies are clearing over much of the state after days of being surrounded by a smoky haze, air so unhealthy it triggered the highest level Air Quality Index (AQI) warning for residents in northwest Minnesota. Things have improved so much that an Air Quality Alert issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) expired at 9 a.m. Wednesday for residents of the Twin Cities metro. 

MPCA says a similar warning for residents of Duluth (northeast) is set to expire at noon, while an air alert for the Rochester area (southeast) – also scheduled to expire at noon – may actually be extended a bit. Those living in northwestern Minnesota were in the clear hours ago. 

KARE 11’s John Zeigler says the low pressure system that pulled …