Median lake ice out dates for Minnesota (Source: DNR)
The 2011-12 ice fishing season was short! Nearly all the lakes in Minnesota lost their ice in March this year. For many lakes, it was the earliest ice out in recorded history.
The University of Minnesota’s Climatology Working Group has a short summary of ice out conditions here. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has a map that you can compare to other years here.