Put the Twin Cities in the 2/3 of the country NOT affected by Sandy.
Directly, that is.
With all air travel to the East Coast cancelled, financial markets closed, and all manner of media focused on the storm, its centripetal pull easily reaches this far (and beyond).
Thanks to the Internet and social media, those of us locally with friends and family in the affected areas (we qualify) have a ready, second layer of news sources.
Assuming, that is, that there are no major effects on communication.
Given the widespread power outages expected in the storm’s path, people outside the affected areas may actually be better informed about Sandy’s progress.
P.S.: With subways closed and work cancelled, apparently most people in Manhattan are planning on staying home and watching videos today.