It’s a Non-Nuclear Winter War

Officials of the little mountain town of Fraser, Colo., are hot under the collar about International Falls, Minn., claiming the title Icebox of the Nation. International Falls, a town of 5,500 on the Canadian border, recently received the Minnesota copyright to the title and is seeking a federal copyright--but Fraser residents are betting they can throw cold water on that plan. Fraser Mayor C.B. Jensen said he has put up $100, families in the town of 500 are being asked to put up $20 each, and officials hope to begin a yearlong match-up this spring. For each of the 365 days in a year, the town with the colder mean temperature will receive a point. The town with the colder absolute temperature on each day also will be given one point. Records show the mean January temperature in International Falls is a hair above zero, 11.6 degrees colder than Fraser’s. International Falls warms up in the summer, however, while Fraser, at a 9,000-foot elevation in a valley bordered by 13,000-foot mountains, is chilly all year. International Falls Mayor Jack Murray said his town wants the title so that it can attract cold-weather testers of machinery.

--An overwhelming majority of Britons sympathize with Prince Edward and think he should leave the Royal Marines if he wishes, according to an opinion poll. The youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II said he will announce today whether he will continue an arduous officers’ training course or drop out of the military and pursue another career. A poll of 1,000 adults, conducted Thursday by Telephone Surveys Ltd. and published in the Sunday Express, found 80.7% sympathetic to the prince’s being allowed to decide his future, and 12% feeling that he should stick with the service. The rest were undecided; no margin of error was given. The plight of the 22-year-old prince was still in the headlines five days after the Sun broke the story. The tabloid said that Edward had decided to quit because he found the training “too tough.”

--He looks as young as ever, but The Cat in the Hat is 30 years old. So, the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh opened an exhibition of the works of children’s author Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, with a party celebrating the birthday of one of his best-known characters. Geisel, 82, who lives in La Jolla, created “The Cat in the Hat” in 1957 as the first of several books for children learning to read. The exhibit, which runs through March 1, is on a tour that began last year in San Diego and includes New York City, Baltimore and New Orleans. The sketches, books and editorial cartoons are a retrospective of Geisel’s 50-year career in writing and art. His books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.