Local color.

I didn’t know this, but it makes sense:  The MSP airport employs a crew of snow removers who board at the airport during storms.

It might not inspire confidence in air travelers to know that their safety at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this weekend depends on a bunkhouse full of guys called Minnow, Beer Can, Floppy, Cheese and Hooter.

But those are some of the 125 snow removal workers who will plow, shovel, eat and sleep at the airport until the promised storm has passed and whose work over the years has won the airport honors for snow and ice removal.

"It’s a bonding experience," said Denny Lundberg, also known as Flicker, who’s in his 29th winter of trying to keep the planes moving at the airport through snow, sleet and ice.

Friday, as when any serious winter storm approaches, Lundberg and the rest of the field maintenance crew were called in for duty-till-it’s-done, abandoning families and weekend plans to fight off a possible foot or foot and a half of new snow.

…The boarding routine gives the Twin Cities an edge in winter storms.

Most other airports, even in snowy cities, send workers home in shifts during storms and sometimes find they can’t get back, said Paul Sichko, assistant director for airport maintenance and operations…

Many of the crew members have personal tales of endurance, discomfort and camaraderie. Lundberg, one of the longest-timers, said that when he started, working a winter storm meant sleeping on his jacket on the floor of a maintenance shed while the more senior workers got dibs on seats in their plows.

Today, everybody sleeps in a bed in modern cinderblock quarters attached to the field operations center. Meals and showers are provided. Their entire time spent at the airport during a storm is paid.

The 1991 Halloween blizzard meant five straight days for the crew at the airport. But it’s been three years since there was a similar round-the-clock call-up.

Long hours like that, plus the grueling work, have created an unusual esprit de corps among crew members. There are the nicknames, and this winter the crew dedicated its work to John Brown, who worked with them for 18 years before his recent sudden death.

"It’s a nice place to work. That’s why no one seems to leave here," said Jay Agger, a 24-year crew member.

Doesn’t sound too bad, actually.