© 2026

For assistance accessing the Online Public File for KAXE or KBXE, please contact: Steve Neu, IT Engineer, at 800-662-5799.
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Season Watch

Looking on the warm side of a cold snap

By Heidi Holtan,
Charlie Mitchell
Published January 29, 2026 at 2:25 PM CST
Ways To Subscribe
Frost coats a window at sunrise in Aitkin County on Dec. 19, 2025.
Lorie Shaull
/
KAXE/KBXE
Frost coats a window at sunrise in Aitkin County on Dec. 19, 2025.

In this episode, co-hosts Charlie Mitchell and Heidi Holtan discuss finding solace in nature and the effects of deep cold on invasive species.

Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!

If there's one thing deep cold is good for, it's slowing the spread of invasive critters not acclimated to our severe winters.

This week, co-hosts Heidi Holtan (director of public affairs, deeply empathetic human) and Charlie Mitchell (phenology coordinator, occasionally apathetic human) find solace in nature and warmth in the cold.

Attributions

  • Downy Woodpecker drumming recording by Peter Mundale, XC982935. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/982935.
  • John Latimer's phenology report, the reports from North Shore Community School, Long Lake Conservation Center and North Star Elementary School, and the recording from Ava all originally aired on KAXE.

Love the podcast? Have you lost a favorite tree, or found solace outdoors? Let us know! Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe, or email us at seasonwatch@kaxe.org.

Tags
Season Watch KAXENorthern MinnesotaPhenologywinter phenology
Stay Connected
Heidi Holtan
Heidi Holtan has been involved with KAXE since 2002. Now as Director of Content and Public Affairs she manages and is the host of the KAXE Morning Show, including a variety of local content like Phenology, What's for Breakfast, Area Voices, The Sports Page and much more, alongside Morning Edition from NPR. Her latest project is Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen.
See stories by Heidi Holtan
Charlie Mitchell
Charlie Mitchell (she/they) joined KAXE in February of 2022. Charlie creates the Season Watch Newsletter, produces the Phenology Talkbacks show, coordinates the Phenology in the Classroom program, and writes nature-related stories for KAXE's website. Essentailly, Charlie is John Latimer's faithful sidekick and makes sure all of KAXE's nature/phenology programs find a second life online and in podcast form.


With a background in ecology and evolutionary biology, Charlie enjoys learning a little bit about everything, whether it's plants, mushrooms, or the star-nosed mole. (Fun fact: Moles store fat in their tails, so they don't outgrow their tunnels every time conditions are good.)
See stories by Charlie Mitchell
Latest Episodes