Tame winter good for wildlife, mixed bag for outdoors enthusiasts
As the book on January closes, the winter of 2020-21 is shaping up as a bit of a wimp by North Country standards, both in terms of temperature and snowfall, which remains scarce across the region. Written By: Brad Dokken | ×
A herd of deer graze in stubble from edible beans west of Park River, N.D., this week. Photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald
It’s been a few years since the region saw a winter as tame as this one.
That certainly was the trend up until earlier this week, when temperatures in parts of northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota plummeted into the minus-30 range, according to the National Weather Service.
Column: Popularity of winter angling places pressure on productive walleye lakes
The hundreds of thousands of avid anglers who drive onto Minnesota lakes in winter are one reason fishing-license sales here have remained relatively stable, or even increased, while license sales in many other states have declined.
Written By:
Dennis Anderson / Star Tribune | 7:00 pm, Jan. 13, 2021 ×
Last winter Mille Lacs registered more than 3 million angler hours of pressure, a record, according to Department of Natural Resources estimates. Brian Anderson / Star Tribune / TNS
MINNEAPOLIS (Tribune News Service) At 11 p.m. on a recent Saturday, Lindy Frasl put the finishing touches on the third ice-fishing wheelhouse he has built. At 20 feet, this one was bigger than the other two, but similarly outfitted, with four bunks, a TV, bathroom and small kitchen.