We’re going to need a longer auger

Minnesota’s 2013/2014 winter has apparently set another record - the thickest ice ever recorded on Lake Pepin. Army Corps of Engineers employees were on the frozen lake that stretches from near Red Wing downstream to north of Wabasha yesterday, taking this year’s first measurements

of the ice thickness. The measurements are done at 17 sites on the lake in an effort to determine when the Upper Mississippi River shipping season can begin. The thicker the ice, the longer tows have to wait to break through the entire shipping channel. Test results show the ice ranges from 19 inches in the Frontenac area to 30 inches on the south end of the lake. Officials note the 30 inch reading is a low estimate. An actual measurement could not be taken because the auger bottomed out before it broke through the ice. The previous thickest measurement ever recorded was 28 inches. Last year’s thickest reading was 26 inches.