The Twin Cities will be forced to accept a new meteorologist after the sudden firing of Sven Sundgaard.
Sundgaard spent 14 years as the trusted, familiar face of the region's weather reporting.
He was canned after one of his social media posts drew some criticism.
Sven Sundgaard, of Minneapolis, grew up to serve his home city the best he could. He provided a trusted daily forecast on the Kare 11 local news network.
His charming demeanor made him a local celebrity in those parts. He held that post for nearly a decade and a half.
But late last week, Kare 11 announced its decision to give Sundgaard the axe, citing "violations of Kare11's news ethics and other policies." Sundgaard's "unethical" act, as the announcement notes, came in the form of a Facebook post he didn't write, but rather shared, which he has since deleted.
Queerty reports that Sundgaard shared Minneapolis rabbi Michael Adam Latz's Facebook post, which derided "anti-stay home" protesters across Minnesota. The protesters, like some others across the country voicing similar frustrations, gathered outside the home of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on April 17.
In response to images of heavily armed demonstrators with White nationalist symbols on display, Latz called the protesters "white nationalist Nazi sympathizer gun fetishist miscreants."
When Sundgaard shared Latz's fiery post, right-wing activists launched a heap of criticisms at Kare 11.
Eventually, the complaints about Sundgaard sharing the Rabbi's post were enough to make the network yield and announce the end of the weatherman's tenure.
Sundgaard, however, carries a hefty amount of local support.
Many comments on the announcement post rushed to his defense.
Leah Ganzer Yoemans/Facebook
Ben Ternus/Facebook
Donny McKinney/Facebook
Nancy Kuffel/Facebook
Kevin K-Dawg Hesse/Facebook
Amy Robb Ritter/Facebook
Sundgaard himself addressed the decision in a lengthy Facebook post.
He noted that he "disagrees with and disputes his former employer's claims."
The Minnesota air waves will be without Sven Sundgaard for awhile, perhaps forever.
The move has clearly upset both Sundgaard and his fans. But the rush of support provides at least a kernel of positivity in the whole ordeal.
While Kare 11 may have bowed to the pressure, most viewers seem to have their favorite weatherman's back.
