Rochester Included in Air Quality Alert

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - An air-quality alert issued yesterday for the Twin Cities and portions of central Minnesota has been expanded to include the southeast corner of the state. The Rochester area is included in the alert which was posted at 2 PM this afternoon and will remain in effect until 6 PM on Thursday.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says stagnant weather conditions are pushing levels of fine particulate pollution high enough to be unhealthy for so-called sensitive groups. That includes the very young and old, along with people dealing with chronic respiratory and heart conditions.

A weather front is expected to begin delivering cleaner air to the region on Thursday afternoon.