By Graham Scher – R & J Broadcasting, Inc. | Thursday, July 9, 2026

ROSEAU, Minn — Thousands of northern Minnesota residents were left without electricity early Thursday morning after what utility officials are calling a rare power outage. The outage began at 12:18 a.m. and affected nearly 3,900 customers across Roseau County, including east to Warroad, and south to Wannaska, Erskine, and surrounding communities. Officials say all six local substations lost power.

The outage was caused by a blown lightning arrestor in a Minnkota Power Cooperative sub-station, and the Warroad substation could not be backfed because of equipment damage, making the outage what officials described as a “one-in-a-million” event. Crews worked through the overnight hours, restoring power to all customers by 3:06 Thursday morning.

Utility officials are reminding customers to be prepared for the possibility of extended outages by having a backup plan, such as a generator, and to report outages immediately rather than waiting, helping crews respond as quickly as possible.