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Winter Play!

Winter Play

A series exploring how Minnesotans play outside in the winter.

Former reality TV star wins Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Duluth racer holds as second-fastest rookie

Former reality TV star wins Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Duluth racer holds as second-fastest rookie

Former reality TV star Jessie Holmes has won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. As of early Friday, Duluth’s Emily Ford continued to run in 17th place, and was the second-fastest rookie so far.

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Photos: Sculptures from artists in Stillwater for the World Snow Sculpting Championship

Photos: Sculptures from artists in Stillwater for the World Snow Sculpting Championship

Twelve teams from around the world finished their chiseling and carving on Saturday, where they on the banks of the St. Croix River since Wednesday. Team Mongolia, also known as Team Falcon, won with their sculpture titled “Voice.”
by MPR News Staff

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'The most Midwestern thing ever': Last winter's snow is still around at Trollhaugen ski area

'The most Midwestern thing ever': Last winter's snow is still around at Trollhaugen ski area

After piling up all of the snow at the end of last winter’s ski season, Trollhaugen ski area’s “snow scientists” kept it protected from summer temperatures as high as 98 degrees. That snow pile is still holding strong — and it’s ready to be uncovered.
by Kyre Johnson

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These Minnesotans farm ice — and it’s drawing climbers from across the U.S.

These Minnesotans farm ice — and it’s drawing climbers from across the U.S.

Ice farming is the art and science of making climbing ice on cliffs. Minnesota has three city-owned parks with volunteer-run ice farming systems for climbing, more than any other state in the country.
by Dan Kraker

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Winter Play: Behind the scenes, capturing the moment

Winter Play: Behind the scenes, capturing the moment

When 10 different reporters set out to try new-to-them winter activities, how do you begin to plan visual coverage for their stories? If you’re the photographer assigned to the project, you might just find yourself trying a new activity or two. 
by Ben Hovland

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Winter Play: How polar explorer Ann Bancroft finds magic in the winter

Winter Play: How polar explorer Ann Bancroft finds magic in the winter

Polar explorer Ann Bancroft might be winter’s biggest champion. But Bancroft, who’s set records traveling to the North and South Poles, and crossing Antarctica, says the key to surviving our coldest months is to tap into your inner child. 
by Catharine Richert

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Winter Play: Melting the stress of frigid cold at a Minnesota bath house

Winter Play: Melting the stress of frigid cold at a Minnesota bath house

As winter cold bites deep, MPR News is celebrating the best of the season through a new series called Winter Play. Our staff across the state set out to try a new-to-them winter pastime. MPR News producer Samantha Matsumoto and reporter Simone Cazares visited Watershed Spa in northeast Minneapolis to take a much-needed break from winter. 
by Simone Cazares and Samantha Matsumoto

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Winter Play: Let's go ride a kite!

Winter Play: Let's go ride a kite!

For our Winter Play series, where MPR News staff try winter activities new to them, Bemidji bureau reporter Mathew Holding Eagle III drove further — and maybe flew further — than anyone else as he tried winter kiteboarding.
by Mathew Holding Eagle III

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Winter Play: The anticipation, anguish and magic of ice dipping

Winter Play: The anticipation, anguish and magic of ice dipping

As MPR News staff fanned out across the state to experience cold weather activities they had never tried for the Winter Play series, Regina Medina and Elizabeth Shockman took a transformative plunge in Lake Harriet.
by Regina Medina and Elizabeth Shockman

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Winter Play: We tried Minnesota birrrd-watching

Winter Play: We tried Minnesota birrrd-watching

It’s cold. But the birds here don’t mind. Why not try your hand at joining them? As part of the Winter Play series MPR News’ Amy Felegy took to a snowy, wooded path in northwestern Minnesota to give you the scoop on winter birding for the first time.
by Amy Felegy

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