Ice-out contest for White Bear Lake, Bald Eagle Lake, gets underway

Yahoo

27-02-2025

While winters in Minnesota are often unpredictable, count on the return of the ice-out contest for White Bear Lake and Bald Eagle Lake this year.
As with previous years, participants can submit one entry per person with an ice-out date for one or both lakes. Entries must be submitted by March 3 before midnight and there is no fee. For more information and to make a prediction go to rallywba.com.
Participants are encouraged to mention their favorite local business and multiple winners will be declared and drawn at random from those who guess the correct date.
People can also participate on Facebook leading up to the ice-out dates by guessing the ice measurements on specific dates. Prizes include gift cards to local businesses which can be claimed at the contest's ice-out party at Washington Square Bar and Grill at 4736 Washington Square in White Bear Lake.
Haskins said he's going after the title of the largest ice-out contest in the country this year. He said he started the contest to support local businesses during the pandemic.
'And my goal was to bring as much attention to the local community, the business community, as I could. You know, just to help give as much benefit and boost to exposure to them. And that's really still at the core of what the contest is about,' Haskins said.
Sponsored by Nimble Impressions – Haskin's marketing agency in White Bear Lake – and Rally WBA, the contest includes prizes and gift cards donated by local businesses.
Multiple winners will be declared after the White Bear Lake Conservation District makes the ice-out official. The conservation district is responsible for declaring an ice-out on White Bear Lake, Haskins said, while he will handle declaring ice-out on Bald Eagle Lake.
According to the state Department of Natural Resources, the definition of a lake ice-out can vary by lake, such as when a lake is 90%, or completely, free of ice or when it is possible to navigate from certain points on the water.
If a person could drive a boat 50 feet off-shore around the perimeter of the lake without running into ice and middle sections of the lake are free of large ice masses, it would be considered an ice-out, according to the Rally WBA website.
Last year's ice-out date for both lakes was March 8. However, by mid-February last year, the ice only measured at seven inches for Bald Eagle Lake. As of Feb. 23 this year, that measurement was 22 inches. The latest ice-out date for Bald Eagle Lake was May 2, 2018; for White Bear Lake, the latest ice-out was May 4 in 2018 and 1950.
Meanwhile, the it's important to remember lake ice can be dangerous.
On Thursday a car reported to have submerged into White Bear Lake in late January was removed by a private towing company, according to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office. The driver told Ramsey County deputies at the time of the report that he was crossing the lake when his front wheels broke through the ice and water started coming through the floorboards. He was able to exit the car through the front driver's side window before going home.
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