Sports
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Dennis Anderson: With Minnesota far behind them, 'Old Guy' snowmobilers close in on Newfoundland
MINNEAPOLIS — They departed northern Minnesota on Feb. 13, powering their motorized sleds across a bare minimum of snow before entering Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.
Now in Quebec, the three “Old Guy” snowmobilers, as they’re known, are hoping that in coming days they’ll cross into Newfoundland, the destination of their latest ...Read more

Bear hunting season bill fails in Connecticut. Lawmaker: Action needed before 'somebody is mauled or killed.'
HARTFORD, Conn. — Nearly every legislative session, Connecticut state Sen. Eric Berthel, R-32, introduces a bill allowing for the hunting of black bears in certain areas of the state, but each year the bill fails to find support in the legislature.
This year was no different, as his bear hunting bill failed to advance out of committee.
...Read more

Bird flu devastates a Pennsylvania farm, a sanctuary for misfit birds
PITTSBURGH — There was an unusual silence Friday at Seggond Chance Farm in Cranberry, Pa., a sanctuary once home to many unwanted, abandoned and abused domestic birds and animals.
The state Department of Agriculture quarantined the site recently after HPAI, highly pathogenic avian flu, annihilated many of the birds; the agency put down the ...Read more

Bighorn blues: Can Nevada's state animal overcome climate change?
MOAPA VALLEY, Nev. — Valley of Fire State Park’s desert bighorn sheep are thirsty. Thirstier than they’ve been in a while.
Though Las Vegas’ 214-day dry streak — the second-longest on record — ended this month, the park’s population of bighorn sheep has been among the hardest hit by drought, requiring intervention from state ...Read more
Best times for anglers
(Table for March 9-March 23)
This table lists top fishing times and days for the coming weeks. For best results, begin fishing one hour before and continue one hour after the times given. Times apply to all time zones.
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Sunday.…................8:55 p.m......………………….…….......................................9:25 a.m...Read more

Dennis Anderson: Thankfully, annexing Canada won't happen, because our Canadian friends won't allow it
MINNEAPOLIS — Annexing Canada to make it our 51st state, as President Trump has suggested, is never going to happen. Not because it’s a dumb idea. But because our Canadian friends like their lives the way they are, and won’t allow it.
That doesn’t make the proposal any less frightful, because exporting our particular brand of resource ...Read more
Best times for anglers
(Table for March 2-March 16)
This table lists top fishing times and days for the coming weeks. For best results, begin fishing one hour before and continue one hour after the times given. Times apply to all time zones.
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Sunday………...........2:20 p.m........………......................................................2:45 a.m. ...Read more

Minnesota's elk will stay put for now; plans delayed to start a herd in northeast part of state
MINNEAPOLIS — A grand plan to reintroduce wild elk to northeastern Minnesota will be delayed at least another year after organizers hit a pair of stumbling blocks, state and tribal officials confirmed last week.
Mackenzie Henk, elk biologist for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, west of Duluth, said last Thursday in an interview...Read more

Minnesota DNR setting the table for a possible bigger walleye catch on Mille Lacs
MINNEAPOLIS — Verified improvements in Mille Lacs Lake fish populations could significantly increase this year’s walleye harvest when the 2025 season opens May 10.
State Fisheries Chief Brad Parsons and members of his staff at the Department of Natural Resources said last Tuesday they will give consideration to suggestions for a two- or ...Read more

Gun owners could get a tax break timed to Georgia deer hunting season
ATLANTA — Gun enthusiasts could soon get an 11-day sales tax holiday in October to coincide with the beginning of hunting season, which Republican senators say would cut down on Georgia’s overpopulation of deer.
Senators approved the measure last Wednesday by a 31-21, party line vote. The bill would remove the sales tax for the purchase of ...Read more

South Carolina spends thousands to keep Lake Murray fishy. What does it get in return?
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Visitors to Lake Murray are attracted by the copious varieties of fish under its blue waters, and officials are aware of this fact. That’s why they are taking steps to keep the aquatic population of the lake as high as possible.
Twenty-three “reef balls” — fabricated bits of concrete meant to stimulate fish habitat �...Read more

Hog hunters trapped by floodwaters overnight in freezing Texas forest, game wardens say
Three men hunting hogs in a Texas forest were rescued after getting stranded by floodwaters, game wardens said.
Rescuers responded Feb. 17 at about 3 a.m. to a distress call from a hunter who said he and two other men were trapped in the Big Slough Wilderness Area of Davy Crockett National Forest, according to a Facebook post from Texas Game ...Read more
Best times for anglers
(Table for Feb. 23-March 9)
This table lists top fishing times and days for the coming weeks. For best results, begin fishing one hour before and continue one hour after the times given. Times apply to all time zones.
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Sunday………............8:10 a.m......………………….............................................8:40 p.m....Read more

Dennis Anderson: Casting an eye south, to Belize, in winter
AMBERGRIS CAYE, Belize — Wednesday morning of this past week broke a long way from the Stillwater Dome, but the routine was the same. Assembling an 8-weight fly rod, I looped line through its guides while feeling the outfit’s familiar heft in my right hand. A lot of things change over time, but as comforting as an inanimate object can be ...Read more
Best times for anglers
(Table for Feb. 16-March 2)
This table lists top fishing times and days for the coming weeks. For best results, begin fishing one hour before and continue one hour after the times given. Times apply to all time zones.
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Sunday.….................2:40 a.m......………………….…….......................................3:00 p.m...Read more

Dennis Anderson: With crossbow's wider use, is the sun setting on the 'old way' of bow hunting?
MINNEAPOLIS — Like a boomerang more than an arrow, the crossbow controversy is coming back to the Legislature.
Some background:
In May 2023, near the end of that year’s legislative session, a conference committee deal was struck to allow any licensed Minnesota archer to hunt deer with a crossbow.
The proposal never was heard in a ...Read more

Archery hunt in Pittsburgh parks nearly doubles last deer harvest
PITTSBURGH — The city of Pittsburgh announced Thursday that its controlled archery hunt for white-tailed deer in city parks netted 199 deer, almost double last year's take.
The city rolled out a controlled archery hunt in 2023-24 after the deer population skyrocketed, causing more vehicle-deer collisions and overeating of native plant species...Read more

Minnesota high school conservation club mixes hunting, fishing and rubbish cleanups to celebrate the outdoors
WACONIA, Minn. — A busload of fifth-graders from Southview Elementary School piled onto the ice of Lake Waconia, scooting, sprinting and walking en masse to an array of fish shanties.
Inside those heated shelters, members of the Waconia High School Conservation Club stood ready with fishing poles, live bait and patience. Their job? Harness ...Read more
Best times for anglers
(Table for Feb. 9-Feb. 23)
This table lists top fishing times and days for the coming weeks. For best results, begin fishing one hour before and continue one hour after the times given. Times apply to all time zones.
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Sunday………............10:05 p.m........………...................................................10:35 a.m.
...Read more

Pittsburgh's Christmas bird count sets records for counters and feathered friends
PITTSBURGH — A record-breaking number of volunteer watchers tallied the most species ever in December for the Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count in Pittsburgh.
"With 209 people and a balmy 65-degree day, we blew the doors off our species record," said Brian Shema, operations manager for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Dennis Anderson: With Minnesota far behind them, 'Old Guy' snowmobilers close in on Newfoundland
- Bird flu devastates a Pennsylvania farm, a sanctuary for misfit birds
- Best times for anglers
- Bighorn blues: Can Nevada's state animal overcome climate change?
- Bear hunting season bill fails in Connecticut. Lawmaker: Action needed before 'somebody is mauled or killed.'