“New York-based Freedom to Marry plans to pump cash into this year’s Minnesota legislative fight to legalize gay marriage. The national group, which donated more than $700,000 into the successful campaign to oppose last year’s constitutional ban on gay marriage, said on Thursday that it hoped to raise $2 million to spread amongst state’s debating marriage laws. It said it planned to spread $800,000 among five states, including Minnesota, to wage the fight,” reports the Star Tribune.

Friday at noon Lonnie Dupre will join MPR News for a chat about his latest attempt to solo-summit Alaska’s Mount McKinley. Post your questions for Dupre here now.

Extreme cold thwarted Arctic explorer Lonnie Dupres third attempt to become the first person to summit Alaskas Mount McKinley solo in the dead of winter.51-year-old Dupre told his support crew early that he made his decision to abort his climb while it was 35 below zero in a snow cave he had built at the 17,200-foot level of the 20,320-foot mountain, North Americas tallest peak.

via Lonnie Dupre: To Denali and back | Minnesota Public Radio News.