As the calendars turn and spring is approaching, ice safety becomes a concern around central Iowa. 

Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Jeremy King says as the days start to become long and the weather begins to warm up the ice on bodies of water still takes time to melt. King says that the rule is that a person needs four to five inches of ice to stand on. He says a great tool is a broom stick to check if ice is still stable. 

“What you do is as you walk out across the ice, you take that broomstick, hold it in your hand and spike it into the ice like you would a football as hard as you can. And if it does not go through the ice, typically that ice is safe and you can walk along and check the ice as you’re going out, slamming that stick down every so often.”

King says that the broomstick can also act as a floatation device if a person were to fall through the ice. He explains once a person gets back on the ice from the water the best method is to roll to shore.