Dokken: Ice safety is important any time, but especially right after freeze-up

A memory from Nov. 18, 2017, popped up in my Facebook feed the other day. We were ice fishing on a small lake atop 6 inches of solid ice so smooth it looked like glass. Not this year. We’ve still got a ways to go before there’s enough ice to convince me to venture out. Time was, Thanksgiving weekend was kind of the benchmark for venturing out on early ice. I can remember a handful of successful Thanksgiving weekend outings on small lakes in Itasca County of northern Minnesota, but that’s a few years ago now. A few, as in nearly three decades. Smaller, shallower lakes are definitely icing over, and YouTubers in some areas already are weighing in with “crazy” and...