Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Says “Ice Out” is Imminent

Another sign of spring is close, and by the time you read this, might already be here. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol is cruising Lake Minnetonka, checking on the ice.

Once the ice has cleared enough to navigate a boat through all the bays and channels, they’ll declare ice-out. That’s important for businesses like dock builders, who can’t start work until the ice is gone.

Officials say ice-out for Lake Minnetonka is imminent. In fact, when our reporter was there Thursday morning, it was almost here.

“A lot of it is just like a slushy mix,” said Deputy Mathias Weinzierl as he navigated his boat close to what ice he could find. “It doesn’t look solid. And just by gauging how fast Spring Park Bay went yesterday, I would venture to say that this will go almost as fast.”

Officials are pretty sure the ice-out will happen by Saturday. With weekend temps in the 70’s, it’s a safe bet the boat ramps will be packed.