New Delhi, March 2 -- It's still winter in Minnesota, but for the people lined up Sunday in single-digit cold at the Moorhead Dairy Queen, spring is in the air.

The annual March 1 opening of the 77-year-old walk-up ice cream shop is a tradition, no matter the weather. Heavy snow, subzero cold - people will brave a blizzard for a Blizzard.

"It just says that we're tough, and there are things that are really important to us," said Jerry Protextor, a retired pastor standing in line for a butterscotch milkshake and a chocolate-mint Blizzard. "It's just a part of community."

March is very much a winter month in the Upper Midwest, though the weather can vary wildly. The annual opening of the Dairy Queen "heritage store" brings the hope of sp...