DNR: Time to remove fish houses

ST. PAUL – Anglers in the southern two-thirds of Minnesota have until the end of the day Monday to remove their fish houses from lakes.

The removal deadline for those in the northern one-third of the state is March 16.

The northern and southern parts of the state are split by a line that runs west-east along U.S. Highway 10, east along Highway 34 to Minnesota Highway 200, east along Highway 200 to U.S. Highway 2, and east along Highway 2 to the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.

If shelters aren’t removed by the deadline, owners will be cited and structures may be confiscated and removed, or destroyed by a conservation officer. After the deadline, shelters may be on the ice between midnight and one hour before sunrise only when occupied. They may not be left or stored at public accesses.

Exceptions to the removal deadlines are Minnesota-Canada border waters (March 31), Minnesota-South Dakota and North Dakota border waters (March 5), Minnesota-Wisconsin border waters (March 1) and Minnesota-Iowa border waters (Feb. 20).

More information about ice fishing shelter deadlines is available at mndnr.gov/iceshelter

Rosen: Rein in unneeded spending

ST. PAUL — The office of Minnesota Management and Budget on Thursday released its annual February economic forecast. The report projected a surplus of $1.513 billion for the 2020-21 budget cycle.

The general fund budget reserve remains at $2.359 billion.

“It’s good news we have a budget surplus, but I would caution the governor, his commissioners and my fellow legislators to rein in the unnecessary spending,” said Senate Finance Committee chairwoman Julie Rosen, R-Vernon Center. “First, we have some immediate priorities that we have to address, like filling the disaster relief account and replenishing the reserves. Second, we should return as much of the surplus as possible to the taxpayers who built it. A little tax relief can go a long way for families that are working hard just to make ends meet. Finally, we shouldn’t pretend everything is great just because there is a surplus. For too long, government spending has grown at an unsustainable pace, and there are billions of dollars of examples of waste and abuse. Rather than think about a wish list of extravagant spending ideas, we should focus on finding and cleaning up those messes in government agencies.”

Rosen noted that Senate Republicans have already announced a plan to return the vast majority of the budget surplus to taxpayers.