By Albert Lea Tribune and Associated Press

The ice has completely melted on Fountain Lake, according to Bill Malepsy, barber and annual watcher of the lake ice.

The final remnants melted at 9 a.m. Sunday. Normally, Dane Bay gets the honor of having the final patches of ice. However, he said this time the northern part of the main body of water in the Shoreland Heights area had the last of the ice, not far from the channel to Bancroft Bay.

The median date for the ice going out on Fountain Lake is April 9.

The recording of ice-out dates for Fountain Lake is the third oldest in the state, according to the State Climatology Office at the University of Minnesota. The records go back to 1912.

The latest it has melted away is April 30, back in 1953. The earliest the ice has gone out is March 7, setting the record in 2000.

Rangers at Myre-Big Island State Park could not be reached this morning to learn of the status of Albert Lea Lake.

Iowa Lake in Martin County saw ice-out on Tuesday. Five lakes were out this weekend: Hall Lake, Budd Lake, Park Lake, Smith Lake and Lake Shetek.