The population is growing and not getting any smarter about how to interface with nature.

More snow? I'd say it's due to the lack of snow (up to this point). Instead of people staying to the plowed, safe, "ice-roads" they're driving wherever they want since there's minimal snow cover on the ice.

"A cooler winter and more snow" has absolutely nothing to do with it. Half of the deaths are due to vehicles being driven on channels connecting bodies of water. These vehicles had no business being driven on the thin ice in these areas. We have more drivers with less common sense. The ice is NEVER safe.

Me drive big heavy truck on lake, kinda icy and frozen, truck fall through, every year, me do again next year. Fall through again, others do too. Me and them never learn.

This is not a public safety issue. This is a stupidity issue. Driving through a channel on Lake Minnetonka is stupid. Driving on the river is stupid. Anyone who knows anything about ice or ice fishing will agree.

Wow, I thought they were going to blame global warming.

littlebootsFeb. 22, 1312:33 PM Me drive big heavy truck on lake, kinda icy and frozen, truck fall through, every year, me do again next year. Fall through again, others do too. Me and them never learn.____________LOL..post of the day!! And unfortunately, too true.

Me?....Never do...

I don't care what nobody says--I got the right to drive out on the lake in the wintertime. Ain't anybody gonna take away my right!

Non-native Minnesotan here. Where I grew up (still in the midwest, with cold winters and some lakes, albeit not 10,000 lakes) we were taught to "fear the ice" for lack of a better term. I moved to MN 15 years ago and it boggled my mind the casual attitude that people have about ice here. So many who just think it's "cool" to randomly drive around the ice or to use it as a shortcut or whatnot. Umm, no, folks. It's ice. It's not a ROAD. It's not a PARK. Stay off it, at least with your giant SUV.