Yeah, 94 and 96 were really cold. 1996 we were one day short of the longest winter ever (measured by the amount of snowfall on the ground). We went from sometime mid-October until into May with snow on the ground, it was bloody awful. January/February that year were pretty rough too, we had a stretch where the high temperature didn't break -30 C for a period of nearly 30 days as well, which wasn't a record.
You guys are getting really hammered in MN as well from what I can see on the weather channel. Grand Forks/Fargo are usually pretty cold anyway, but there's a breaking point somewhere between Fargo and Minneapolis where even if it's cold in Fargo, the Cities are still not that bad. Not right now though.
Our forecast is better for later in the week, but I've seen that trick before too. Right now they're only issuing windchill warnings on a day to day basis. They started Friday and only mentioned Saturday. Now they're talking about Tuesday. This too shall pass.