![Frosted Birch trees reach for the sky on a bitter cold morning in December. ] Minnesota -State of Wonders, Arrowhead in Winter BRIAN PETERSON • brian.peterson@startribune.com
Grand Marais, MN 2/14/2014](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/6ZXHG4LKYMULX4MFGGBDRWW2GE.jpg?&w=436&ar=3:2&fit=crop)
A viral social media post claims the upcoming Arctic blast will cause “exploding trees” around the Midwest.
![Rising above the treeline (Top of this photo), on the shore of Birch Lake, the Twin Metals Copper Nickel Mine Plant site and Tailings Management site is part of the proposed plan. ] In theory, the copper-nickel mine Twin Metals wants to build in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a zero-discharge mine -- a closed loop that will endlessly recycle millions of gallons of water, including rainwater and the polluted process water it uses to extract ore and](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/YHBTRGPTHTAE2QDYTS6YZ24OS4.jpg?&w=252&ar=3:2&fit=crop)
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AuthoredDennis Anderson
AuthoredDennis AndersonDecember 5, 2025
