A herd of elk overlook the Kansas Prairie at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge in Canton, Kansas. —Tammy Johnson, Reporter, McPherson Sentinel, McPherson, Kansas (CherryRoad Media)

Jeremy Abbott of San Francisco was out skating on Payette Lake over the weekend of January 18-19 among the crowds of people that took advantage of the frozen lake. The two-time Olympian competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada and the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia where he won a bronze medal for team mixed figure skating. —Maxfield Silverson, Editor, McCall Star News, McCall, Idaho (CherryRoad Media)

Sheridan, Wyoming area residents of all ages charge into Lake DeSmet in a variety of ways during the annual Polar Plunge near Buffalo, Wyoming on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. The water temperature was an estimated 37 degrees Fahrenheit. —Clint Wood, Photojournalist, The Sheridan Press, Sheridan, Wyoming

Homeless by choice, Sean has been on the streets of Olympia, Washington, for almost two years. “I just can’t seem to give up the drinking; that’s why I am here,” he said.