Ice on Rainy Lake is declared out this morning.
International Falls area pilot Rick Bolstad called this morning after an early morning flight over Rainy Lake to tell The Journal that a boat can travel unimpeded by ice from Ranier to Kettle Falls.
That makes Falls High School Student Council member Chanin Smith the winner in The Journal’s annual ice-out prediction contest
“I think the ice will be gone April 6,” Smith told The Journal in March. “April 6 is a Friday and I like Fridays.”
Smith said also settled on that date because it is two weeks away and “just really wants the weather to stay nice until then.”
Meanwhile, Bolstad said he flew over the lake Thursday evening, when getting to Kettle Falls would have involved a lot of “bobbing and weaving” through ice flows.
But this morning, he said, the ice had shifted, opening the main channel.
However, Bolstad said, much of the lake, from the east end of Dryweed to Seine Bay remained socked in by ice.
“There’s still a lot of ice out there, but the main channel people use is clear,” he said this morning.
He added that south winds forecast for today will likely do damage to the remaining ice.
