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St. Paul, Minn.

Ice harvest time on Lake Phalen as Winter Carnival nears

Chainsaw in the lake
Mike Lint uses a chainsaw to cut out blocks of ice from Lake Phalen.
Matthew Hintz / For MPR News

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Cutting the ice
Gideon Doty, left, and Adam Braegelman remove the layer of existing snow and cut blocks of ice.
Matthew Hintz / For MPR News

Workers sawed, chiseled, and raised block after block of ice from of Lake Phalen Saturday. Each block is about 12 inches thick, 42 inches long and 22 inches wide, and weighs in around 450 lbs.

Ice cutting machine
Gideon Doty operates an ice cutting machine.
Matthew Hintz / For MPR News

Workers took between 1,000 and 1,200 blocks by truck to Rice Park in St. Paul to begin construction of the royal courtyard, one of this year's attractions at the St. Paul Winter Carnival.