werewolf

I am currently fixing up my mom's car (acura MDX) and it needs some new tires. She lives in MN and is a very conservative driver. The bad news is that other people aren't and the area has severe rain, ice, snow and slush conditions for a good part of the year, so I am looking for a tire with legitimate bad weather, panic stop abilities.

My question for you snow-dwellers out there is what tires should I be shopping for.

Priorities (from most important to least)
1) Good snow/rain handling
2) Treadlife
3) Price
4) Roadnoise

Thanks in advance!