I'm still a rookie at this hay shed thing so not sure I am one to give advice, especially to someone in NW MN.

Yes, the idea is that me and the hay stay inside in the winter, the cows stay outside, with some wind protection. And I can put out hay without ever opening a gate and in any weather, assuming I remembered to plug in the skid steer when its -10 degrees F.

The whole system is a result of a real hay debacle I had last year at this time. I and almost everyone around here was short of hay due to the drought in 2012 and the very cool extended winter into spring last year.  Hay prices went way up.

Seem to me in NW MN for spring calving cows the key is shelter from the wind. Not necessary to keep them inside. But allow them to get out of the wind and feed them well.  Having some corn silage custom chopped and bagged for the first time provided some needed energy to the cows over a very cold winter here. You might want to consider having some silage bagged. Feeding it out of a Meyer wagon as pictured above  let's you load it only every couple days...

If you have questions I'm sure there are other more experienced folks here to answer.  Aaron in NW Ontario is not too far from NW MN and deals with similar conditions.

All depends on what resources in pasture/crops facilities you have to work with. But you don't need a lot at first other than a corral and alley. Vet can bring a chute if you have a way to get them to single file...

Good Luck

Jim