Man rescued after falling through ice near dam at Council Grounds

A 65-year-old Merrill man was rescued from the Wisconsin River Monday morning after falling through the ice near the Alexander Hydro Dam, according to a Facebook post by the Merrill Fire Department.
Around 10:45 a.m. on Feb. 16, 2026, the Merrill Fire Department responded to Council Grounds State Park, where a man had broken through the ice and was stranded on a nearby island.
Fire Chief Josh Klug said, “He has been ice fishing there previously this year. ... He was there to remove his ice shanty since WPS had informed him that they planned to open up a gate soon.”
That’s when the man’s dog got too close to the edge of the water, broke through the ice, and fell in. “He went over to try and rescue the dog, and then he went in, as well,” Klug said. The man floated down to the island.
Firefighters deployed a Rapid Deployment Craft to reach the victim and bring him safely back to shore. The man was placed in an ambulance and paramedics began the rewarming process, but the man denied transport to the hospital.

The dog was able to swim to shore safely on its own.
The man’s sled and ice shanty were also recovered, from where he had erected his shanty below the dam, and removed from the ice. Klug said the department wanted to be proactive to prevent the man or anyone else from attempting to ice fish there or remove the shanty again, as they had the equipment there and were already on scene.
The Merrill Police Department and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office also assisted at the scene.
While not confirmed, area residents have reported that another ice shack that had been set up in that same location was swept downriver about a month prior to this incident.
Klug added that a representative from Wisconsin Public Service said that, while there is no law or regulation against placing an ice shanty down river from the dam, the man has a history of being out on the ice fishing in that location before and has been warned that it’s not a good idea.
“In that specific location where the shack was, there’s lots of ice, but there’s changing conditions that make it unsafe,” Klug said.
One factor is that the gates of the dam are no longer exclusively opened by onsite personnel; operating the gates can now be done remotely from Green Bay.