Outside in MN

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Another COVID-19 ripple effect: Crowded lakes cause conflict
The effects of COVID-19 are showing up on the lakes of Otter Tail County, where the sheriff’s department water patrol is having a busy summer. With vacations canceled and travel at a minimum, people are staying close to home — and more boats on the water have meant more complaints about noise, and trespassing on private beaches.
Bird watching in your backyard: What to listen for
Spring is coming, and even if you can’t enjoy your favorite warm-weather activities because of stay-at-home orders, there’s plenty to explore at home. That’s where our feathered friends come in.
Backyard nature: A child's first encounter with a baby bunny
Kristin Schwarze and her daughter Clare have spent most of their time indoors or in their Shoreview yard since the coronavirus pandemic hit Minnesota. But their family isolation was interrupted over the weekend when they found a baby cottontail rabbit.
Minnesota’s stay-at-home order encourages getting outside, but how far away?
Outdoor activities like fishing, hiking and biking are explicitly allowed under Minnesota’s stay-at-home order. But that order also limits nonessential travel. So, just how far can people travel to get outside?
Audio postcard: Searching for early spring wildflowers
This year’s first bloom report comes to us from a stretch of prairie in Cannon Falls, Minn, where wildflower hunters Kelly Povo and Phyllis Root went looking for tiny purple pasqueflowers, an early sign of spring.