Minnesota Was Supposed to Stop Changing Clocks in 2026. What Happened?

We're all getting set to enjoy an extra hour of Halloween this year, as clocks across Minnesota will fall back one hour this weekend. But wasn't this going to be the year when we moved our clocks ahead in the spring and left them there for good?

Why Minnesota Still Changes Clocks Twice a Year

Minnesotans, and most other Americans, have been used to losing an hour of sleep each spring and then getting it back again in the fall for as long as we can remember. That's because we've been springing ahead and falling back for 108 years now, Time and Date says, after the United States first adopted Daylight Saving Time on March, 31, 1918, when the Standard Time Act of 1918 was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson as an energy-saving measure during World War I.

However, you recall a more recent proposal that would have made the switch to Daylight Saving Time permanent. USA Today says the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill (the Sunshine Protection Act) that would have done just that in 2022.

ALSO INTERESTING: Rochester's Season Parking Restrictions Start This Weekend As Well

What Happened to the Sunshine Protection Act?

The Act is a bit controversial, since switching to permanent daylight saving time means later sunsets in winter, but also much later sunrises, and more darkness in the morning. Staying with permanent standard time would eliminate clock changes, too, but would give us more morning daylight in winter instead.

Minnesota, along with 18 other states, has already passed legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent as well-- as soon as the federal government passes similar legislation.

Get our free mobile app

However, that 2022 act didn't pass the U.S. House of Representatives and wasn't signed into law.  Meanwhile, President Trump has favored eliminating Daylight Saving Time and has said he'd sign a bill to do that if it were sent to him after being approved by Congress.

And, earlier this year, there WAS some action taken to make the switch to Daylight Saving Time permanent. The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 on July 14, 2026, by a vote of 309–117. However, the Senate has yet to vote on its version of that bill.

When Does Daylight Saving Time End in Minnesota in 2026?

So, once again, we're set to fall back and gain an extra hour of sleep, starting at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1st.  And, unless something changes, we'll then spring forward and lose that hour of sleep on Sunday, March 14, 2027.