Etc.

Hey, you two, chill!

Even though their communities aren't close geographically, the governments of International Falls, Minn., and Fraser, Colo., are giving each other the cold shoulder these days. In fact, it could be said that they're trying to freeze each other out. Out of what? Well, out of which one rightfully should be called the "Icebox of the Nation."

Now, based on Monday's National Weather Service reports, the thermometer in Fraser read 18 degrees F. But in International Falls it plunged all the way to 0. That would seem to make the latter a clear winner, right? Not according to Fraser officials, who've sued for the exclusive use of the trademark. They say their town's claim goes back to 1956 and are asking International Falls to prove it can trump that by eight years. Not surprising, a countersuit followed. At one point, the adversaries sought to settle the matter face to face. But that failed when International Falls proposed a duel on snowshoes and Fraser held out for a snowball battle.

Oh, one more bit of history: In 1986, International Falls paid Fraser a cool $2,000 to give up its claim. And that might have been that but for the former's admission last year that it forgot to renew the trademark, thus giving the Colorado town an opening to reestablish its claim. Meanwhile, as relations between the two turn frostier, meteorologists in Fairbanks, Alaska, recorded Monday's temperature at minus 40 degrees F.

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