While many Iowans are bracing for dangerously cold wind chills this weekend, ice anglers across the state are cheering the forecast.

The bitter cold is expected to help solidify ice cover, especially in areas that have struggled to lock up so far this winter.

Scott Grummer, a fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources at Clear Lake and an avid ice fisherman himself, says the colder temperatures are badly needed in parts of the state.

“The southeast part of the state has very little ice right now, zero to three inches,” Grummer says. “As you move into north-central and northwest Iowa, we’re seeing five to eight inches of ice. It’s usable with caution in the northern half of the state, but the southern half could definitely use more cold.”

The Iowa DNR recommends a

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