Minnesota DNR Is Advising People To Stay Off The Ice

They say if you're still wanting to go on the ice, here are some recommendations you can take.

MOORHEAD, Minn. – The DNR says there’s a lot of factors that go into ice making, one of those being heavy snowfall.

“What we’ve seen this year is heavy snowfall. Snow has an insulating effect on ice making conditions. So, ice that might be normally pretty safe, because of the snowfall, the ice underneath is not as safe and not as thick as one wants,” says Steve Chihak, a Minnesota Conservation Officer.

The DNR has some precautions you can take if you still want to hit the ice.

“If they do go out in the ice, they should be measuring the ice every 150 feet, because ice conditions vary greatly over that span. Another thing that people can do, and what I always do and never go on the ice without is ice picks. These are ice picks and what they do is, if you do fall through the ice, they can help you get back out,” he says.

The DNR also recommends bringing a life jacket as it can buy yourself some time to either rescue yourself or have rescuers come to you and help you out.

Peter Fendt has been a volunteer with Valley Water Rescue for almost 30 years.

“Our team is a team of public safety divers. If there’s a situation where divers are needed in Cass or Clay Counties primarily, it’s our team that would get called to do the diving,” says Fendt.

He says his favorite part is seeing families reunite.

“There’s been a lot of situations and I’ve spent a lot of years as a diver, but I’m also the person that gets called to work with a family and being able to help families and being a resource that’s not real common and having the ability to do some of the diving,” he says.

Last year, the team received about a half dozen calls involving them working in the water.