(Continued from page 21)

• ___
• Sled dogs love snow, and so do sled dog racers. The 2 feet-plus that fell along the North Shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota, plus the cold, are fueling optimism among organizers of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. The race was canceled due to a lack of snow in 2012 and had to be postponed from January until March earlier this year. The 2014 edition is due to start Jan. 26, and race spokeswoman Linda Nervick said this harsh weather bodes well for staying on schedule.
• Two-time Beargrease champion Nathan Schroeder said he's looking forward to defending his title next month, but the snow and cold came at just the right time for his main task -- training his dogs for the Iditarod in Alaska in March. Schroeder said he got 12 to 14 inches of snow where he lives north of Chisholm, so training conditions are now ideal. Until now his dogs had to pull a four-wheel cart to simulate a sled. Now his team is getting a more realistic test.
• "I've been training my dogs for the Iditatrod on my four-wheeler, dreaming of the ground to turn white, and it finally turned white. Now we're able to get on the sleds, which is the true part of the sport. I'll be ready to give her 100 percent all the way to the Iditarod now," Schroder said.
• ___
• Jason Zahn has been cattle ranching in northern North Dakota for 20 years and shrugs off bitter cold weather -- as long as it's not accompanied by gusty winds. And in North Dakota, the two often go hand in hand.
• "I don't mind 5 below temperatures," Zahn said Thursday while out caring for his hundreds of cows near Towner. "But when you get those 30 mph winds, it really takes it out of you."
• The actual temperature in that part of the state was a few degrees below zero, but wind chill pushed it to nearly 40 below in some areas.
• When extreme cold and snow hits, ranchers must do chores such as moving snow, finding proper bedding for calves and putting out extra hay. And while they're doing all that, they must deal with farm equipment made stubborn and lethargic by the cold.
• The first priority of ranchers is to make sure water supplies for their animals aren't frozen up or shut down by power outages.
• "The main thing is we've got to get water going, hay put out," Zahn said. "What they're going to eat definitely increases as it gets colder."
• ___
• National Park Service law enforcement officer Megan Kinkade hails from the warmer climes of Texas, so she bundled up in long johns, a sweater and a heavy

(Continued on page 23)