Prior Lake, Minn. – Jumping into icy cold water in February in Minnesota isn’t something most folks would want to do, but 92 Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) employees and Mystic Lake team members on 11 teams raised $15,858 for Special Olympics Minnesota by doing just that. They were among the 729 participants in the Polar Bear Plunge held in Prior Lake on February 21.

This year, 20 Polar Bear Plunge events are being held around Minnesota from January through March. This was the 18th year overall, and the seventh year the event has been held in Prior Lake. The Prior Lake Polar Bear Plunge raised more than $142,000 this year.

Dating back to the first Polar Bear Plunge on Como Lake in St. Paul in 1998, more than 15,500 participants have raised more than $3.8 million for Special Olympics Minnesota through 2014. For more information about upcoming Polar Plunge events, visit plungemn.org.