“Take a Kid Ice Fishing” for free this weekend

The Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday weekend coincides with the Minnesota DNR’s “Take a Kid Ice Fishing,” starting Saturday through Monday.

During the weekend, Minnesota residents can go ice fishing for free if they are fishing with a child 15 years old or younger. Minnesotans 15 years old or younger don’t need fishing licenses any time of the year.

“Ice fishing is lots of fun for kids and adults alike. There’s nothing quite like making your way onto a frozen lake, drilling a hole through the ice and catching fish,” said Benji Kohn, volunteer mentor program coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

“If you’re interested in giving ice fishing a try, learning the basics is really doable. We have helpful information on our website to get you started.”

Ice conditions vary and there is no such thing as 100 percent safe ice. Always check local ice conditions before heading out to a lake or river.

Check the DNR’s learn to ice fish page for more information about ice fishing.


Larissa Donovan was the News Director for the stations of Paul Bunyan Broadcasting and has been, almost without interruption, since Election Day 2016, through July 2023. She covered all the beats in north-central Minnesota, such as local government, crime, education, environment and social issues. She studied communications at Bemidji State University. You can follow along with Larissa's live tweets of meetings and events on Twitter!


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