Minnesotans are scheduled to turn their clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. on Nov. 1, returning to standard time unless Congress changes the system first. For most people in the state, that means an extra hour of sleep and, when the change hits, clocks that read 1 a.m. again.
The shift matters now because Nov. 1 is the earliest date for the annual fall change, and it will apply in St. Cloud and across Minnesota. Cellphones and other electronic devices will reset on their own, but grandfather clocks, mantel clocks and many stove and car clocks around St. Cloud will still need to be changed by hand.
The House has already approved the Sunshine Protection Act, a proposal to make daylight saving time permanent, and sent it to the Senate after a 308-117 vote on July 14. The measure was referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, but as of Sept. 10 the Senate had not scheduled a vote. The Senate was set to resume regular business on Sept. 14, with its first announced vote centered on a federal judicial nomination rather than daylight saving time.
Under the current schedule, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year, while Minnesota follows the seasonal switch. If permanent daylight saving time were adopted, sunrise and sunset would both arrive one hour later than they do under standard time. It would not add daylight; it would push the available light later into the day.
So the immediate answer is simple: unless the Senate moves the Sunshine Protection Act before Nov. 1, Minnesota will fall back on schedule. The clocks will change at 2 a.m., and winter mornings will start darker than they would under permanent daylight saving time.
