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Questions or requests? Contact MPR News editor Michael Olson at molson@mpr.org.

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. 
Ramsey County begins transfer of inmates as debate over jail funding intensifies
A state order reduces the Ramsey County jail’s operational capacity to 324 inmates. The Department of Corrections issued a similar capacity reduction order to Beltrami County on Jan. 27. Both orders highlight a series of concerns about conditions in the state’s jails.
Walz signs carbon-free energy bill, prompting threat of lawsuit
Clean energy advocates, large utilities and labor unions said the new target would put the state on track to reduce carbon emissions and address climate change. But North Dakota officials say they may sue over the new law.
Hibernating bear saved after getting stuck in melting snow near Roseau, Minn.
DNR officials believe the nearly 400-pound bear was hibernating in a culvert when it was forced out by melting snow. It wound up stuck in deep snow beside a road and farm fields. Passersby apparently tried to feed and dig out the bear.
Bill to slow catalytic converter theft races forward at MN Capitol
Minnesota is an attractive target for catalytic converter thieves. A series of proposals to head off their theft and resale is on the move at the Legislature.
State court backs Leech Lake Ojibwe in dispute over proposed mill
The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday in favor of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and ordered the city of Cohasset to reconsider whether a more detailed environmental review is required for a proposed wood mill.
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.
Buzzz! New research finds more than 500 bees native to Minnesota
Minnesota sits at the intersection of several ecoregions, making it a prime place to catalog bees, some so tiny they can only be identified through a microscope. The University of Minnesota and the DNR are working now on a definitive list of the state’s native bees.