FARGO, N.D. (AP) -- A wintry mix of snow, sleet and gusty winds is closing schools, causing power outages and making travel treacherous in parts of the Upper Midwest.

In North Dakota, Grand Fork and Cass county courthouses and offices closed Thursday as well as North Dakota State University and dozens of other schools. The North Dakota Highway Patrol advised against travel in eastern parts of the state because of blowing snow and near zero visibility.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for the eastern edges of the Dakotas and western Minnesota. That region was bracing for up to a foot of snow and wind chills as low as minus 40.

In Wisconsin, freezing rain and snow snarled the morning commute, closed schools and left 5,300 We Energies customers without power.

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