For those guys and gals heading up to the Rice Lake area for the holidays:
I spent the afternoon on a ~ 200 acre lake that is about 15 miles north of Rice Lake. We measured 8-10″ of rock hard, clear ice in the areas we were fishing. Looks like someone had driven out that morning or perhaps the previous day, although we chose to hoof it. While no ice is 100% safe, and you should pay close attention to the specific lake you intend to fish, I would guess that nobody should have any trouble finding fishable ice after today, especially after the cold snap that is currently underway.
Oh yeah, the fishing….so so. Lots of hammer-handles and a couple of nicer gators, on tip-ups and on jigs. 15-30 FOW. Enjoy!