DNR warns of unsafe Minn. ice conditions
Published 1:50 pm Saturday, December 17, 2011
ISLE — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is urging anglers and others to check ice conditions before heading out on the lake this weekend.
Unseasonably mild weather is making for unsafe ice conditions across the state.
DNR water safety specialist Tim Smalley said a 71-year-old man fell not once but twice through the ice Friday on Mille Lacs Lake.
Smalley said the man first drove his all-terrain vehicle through the ice about a half-mile from shore. The man climbed out of the water and began walking to shore when he fell through again. The man got out again and made it to shore, where he was treated by paramedics for mild hypothermia.
Smalley said people should check ice conditions with a local bait shop or resort before heading out.