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Ice is in, contest is on at Moosehead Lake

Ice out on Moosehead Lake has been tracked since 1848.

GREENVILLE (NEWS CENTER) -- It has been a long winter on Moosehead Lake. It's still cold, iwth winds rushing across the 42 miles of frozen ice between East Cove in Greenville and Northeast Carry.

People in the region are keeping an eye on that ice. When it goes out, their town will transform into a busy summer recreation destination.

"We always have a mud season during April, but usually come May, people are coming up," mused Sally Turnquist of the Greenville Recreation Department.

Each year, the department runs a 50/50 contest with the prize going to the person who guesses most closely when ice out will be.

Turnquist won it in 1973 and says the ice out contest helps pass the time as we await spring.

A pilot named Roger Currier makes the determination while flying the lake every day.

The earliest ice out was April 14, 1945, and the latest May 29, 1878.

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