Now that we’ve had the biggest snowfall of the winter so far, people will be using their snow blowers for the first time this season. R&J Broadcasting’s Joe Lancello has some safety reminders.
R&J Broadcasting’s Joe Lancello.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will open a late-season deer hunt Dec. 19 through 21 in several permit areas to help manage chronic wasting disease. To find deer permit areas covered by the hunt, visit the DNR website..
The DNR says CWD testing is voluntary this year because enough samples were collected during the regular firearms season. Hunters who want their deer tested can use self-service stations, partner sampling locations, mail-in kits, or make an appointment at a DNR office. There will be no staffed check stations during the management hunt.
Carcass movement restrictions remain in place. Hunters must quarter their deer before taking meat out of the CWD zone, and whole carcasses can’t leave the area until a “not detected” test result is confirmed. Heads may still go directly to licensed taxidermists outside the zone.
To encourage participation, the DNR is allowing flexible license use. Disease-management permits may be used on both antlered and antlerless deer, and the bag limit is five. Most hunters in last year’s late-season CWD hunt harvested one or two deer.More information, including testing details and CWD results, is available at mndnr.gov/cwd.
The Minnesota DNR has completed one of its largest land acquisitions in decades — nearly 16,000 acres of forested land across ten northern Minnesota counties are now permanently protected.
The project preserves critical habitat, expands recreation access, and ensures the land remains forested for generations. It stems from years of collaboration between the DNR, The Conservation Fund, Northern Waters Land Trust, and multiple counties.
To help explain the scale of the purchase, I spoke with DNR Northeast Regional Communications Specialist Ingrid Johnson, who says mapping the land is challenging because of how spread out the parcels are.
She says the DNR’s GIS staff is already working to create a public-facing map of the tracts.
The acquisition includes over 10 thousand acres purchased with Outdoor Heritage Funds in counties such as Aitkin, Becker, Cass, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Koochiching, and Wadena. These lands will expand wildlife management areas, scientific and natural areas, and state forests.
Another 51-hundred acres in St. Louis County were purchased with Reinvest in Minnesota dollars, helping consolidate state forestland and preserve large, continuous habitat blocks.
Johnson says the effort has been many years in the making.
DNR Northeast Regional Communications Specialist Ingrid Johnson.
Over a dozen robotics teams from across Northwest Minnesota will be participating in the Northern Minnesota Robotics Conference’s annual FIRST Lego League event later this week in Bemidji. NMRC representative Matt Wendland tells us more about the Event.
Wendland explains how Lego League differs from other NMRC leagues like FRC.
Again, the NMRC First Lego League event will get underway at 9:30 AM on Friday, December 12 at the Sanford Center Ballroom in Bemidji. The event runs all afternoon with the final matches concluding round 5:30.
The Minnesota Department of Health has released results from the 2025 Minnesota Student Survey, showing significant improvements in student wellbeing across the state. Officials say students reported stronger connections to their schools, better overall physical and mental health, and fewer problems with bullying, substance use, and absenteeism compared to 2022.
The survey found the first reversal in a decades-long decline in student mental health, with drops in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. The percentage of 11th-grade students considering suicide is now at its lowest level in more than ten years.
Education and health leaders credit recent state investments and efforts by schools to rebuild student engagement. Students reported feeling safer at school, more supported by adults, and more connected to post-secondary opportunities.
The survey also recorded declines in tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use, an increase in healthy eating, and fewer students reporting adverse childhood experiences. New questions highlighted concerns about social media and late-night screen use, with many teens saying technology affects their sleep and responsibilities.
More than 119,000 students took the anonymous survey this year.
For full results and data, visit health.state.mn.us.
By Graham Scher – R & J Broadcasting | December 8, 2025
Lake of the Woods, MINN. – Ice continues to form on Minnesota lakes and rivers. The DNR’s Lisa Dugan says if you’re going to venture out, keep in mind no ice is 100-percent safe. Officials recommend taking safety precautions, such as checking the ice depth, bringing ice picks, and wearing buoyant gear if walking or snowmobiling on ice.
With ice fishing now underway in most parts of the state and on Lake of the Woods, DNR Conservation Officer Coby Fontes provided more on the dangers of ice fishing throughout the season and where the safest areas will likely be.
Dugan added that there should be at least four inches of new, clear ice if you’re walking on, at least five to seven inches of ice for an ATV or snowmobile, and for vehicles, there should be 12 inches or more of ice.
The Animal Humane Society is reminding Pet owners to protect your pet from the cold this winter. Spokesperson Brittany Baumann says there is much colder air and subzero windchills in the forecast. She says the amount of time a dog or any pet can spend outside in the cold depends on their size, age, fur coat or not, and breed.
Temperatures in the single digits above and below zero can be dangerous for pets in Minnesota. She also says you should never leave a dog in an unoccupied vehicle when it’s cold.
The Marine’s Toys for Tots organization is in the midst of their holiday campaign, and they are encouraging residents across the country to consider making a donation for a child in need. Col Ted Silvester of the Marines Toys for Tots Foundation says if you want to make a donation, consider purchasing a gift for an older child, as they are often overlooked when it comes to donations.
Silvester also explains why he feels it’s important for people to make a gift donation to child in need during the holidays.
More information about the Toys for Tots Foundation can be seen on their website at www.toysfortots.org.
This fall, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources finalized one of its largest land acquisitions in recent history, resulting in the permanent protection of nearly 16,000 acres of forested land across a ten-county area in northern Minnesota. This action ensures these lands will remain forested into the future, securing the broad range of habitat, recreation, economic and other benefits these lands provide.
In one transaction, with funding from the Minnesota Legacy Outdoor Heritage Fund, the DNR collaborated with NWLT and the counties to strategically select 10,675 acres within Aitkin, Becker, Carlton, Cass, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Koochiching, and Wadena counties. These lands will expand existing wildlife management areas, scientific and natural areas, and state forests.
In the second transaction, the DNR acquired 5,120 acres in St. Louis County using Reinvest in Minnesota dollars. These lands will expand and consolidate ownership in existing state forests, creating larger, contiguous blocks of DNR land.More information about Minnesota’s state-managed public lands can be found on the DNR website.
People hoping for a “real” winter in Minnesota are getting their wish this year. Pete Boulay with the State Climatology Office says December is off to a cool and snowy start and that pattern is expected to continue the entire month. Boulay added that we’ve had the earliest below-zero temperatures since 2014.
Boulay says there is a blanket of snow statewide which makes the average air temperature 11 degrees cooler. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is among those predicting colder-than-average temps and more snowfall than usual for our state.