The active and cold pattern continues. Friday will be briefly warmer and near 30 degrees ahead of another round of snow showers. More snow showers are possible Saturday followed by cold. 

Ice sailing's Great Western Challenge is being held this weekend on Lake Minnewaska. It offers sailors a chance to fine tune their vessels before the start of competitive racing next weekend.

A federal vaccine advisory committee has voted to end a longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born. For decades, the government has advised that all babies be vaccinated against the liver infection right after birth.

December arrives like a season that knows it’s putting on a show. The city fills with borrowed memories, holiday oddities, local stories and a little frost for dramatic effect. This week’s picks slip right into that cast, where familiar traditions get re-staged and the past refuses to stay backstage.

There’s a renewed effort in northern Minnesota’s Brainerd Lakes area to develop an underground mine for manganese, which is coveted to make batteries. Many local residents are uneasy.

Kelly Evert of Village Books and Paper Dreams in Washington recommends Mona’s Eyes” by Thomas Schlesser.