MADISON LAKE, Minn. — For 36 years Mary and Dennis Buschkowsky have been in charge of gathering one piece of important information used by state climatologists and a New York scientist who has spent decades studying global warming. For the most part, as spring weather starts winning its bout with winter by pushing the cold air north, their job is easy. The Buschkowskys can sit at their kitchen table and look out over Madison Lake. If there’s ice in the bay, their job is done for the day. As that ice melts away, though, their annual job becomes more challenging. By Dan Nienaber, The Free Press.

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EXCHANGE-HIGH-FLYING MAESTRO

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Michael Christie is a maestro on the move. At 38, he’s the music director of the Minnesota Opera, one of the nation’s top companies. He’s also wrapping up eight years as music director of the Phoenix Symphony, leads the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, guest-conducts orchestras around the world, and last year was on the cover of Opera News magazine, which in the opera world is like being the cover model on the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Aside from all that, he’s the doting father of a 4-year-old and keeps the household running while his wife completes a medical fellowship at Mayo. By Jay Furst, Post-Bulletin.

AP Photo planned.

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EXCHANGE-LONG DISTANCE WOES

BEMIDJI, Minn. — At Up North Sports, about 20 percent of business comes over the phone. But that crucial tie to customers from across the nation often breaks. For the past few years, long-distance calls coming into the sporting goods store have been unreliable. Although customers say they can hear the phone ringing on their end, sometimes the phone doesn’t ring in the store. “We’ll be talking to people and the call will just drop, or people will try to call us and they can’t get through,” co-owner Steve Fogelson said. ” Rural phone customers in Minnesota and other parts of the country have complained about dropped or uncompleted long-distance calls for several years. The FCC blames third-party long distance carriers trying to save money, and says it’s working on it. By Tom Robertson, Minnesota Public Radio.

AP Photos.

EXCHANGE-MIDDLE AGES

MITCHELL, S.D. —There are days when Melissa Wobig goes by a different name, a more elegant name from an age long past. Clothed in a plain dark dress, a white headdress and simple jewelry, Wobig, going by the name Isabella Beatrice della Rosa, or “Belle,” watched in quiet awe as the kingdom of Northshield crowned its newest king and queen at the Davison County Fairgrounds in Mitchell. Northshield, which includes South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan’s upper peninsula, and a nearby part of Canada, is just one of 18 kingdoms around the world that comprise the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group dedicated to studying and recreating the Middle Ages. The SCA began in 1966 in California. “The focus of the SCA is to bring to life the better aspects of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,” Wobig, of Rochester, Minn., said. By Chris Mueller, Daily Republic.

AP Photos.

The AP, Minneapolis