Cecil,
You're assumption about Missouri is correct. I live in NW Missouri and we rarely have ice for extended periods of time. Last year we had about a three week time period with 6" of ice. Overall, I would say that the ice period is highly variable even for us up in the colder parts of the state. Four years ago we had 18" of ice for nearly 1 month. Three years ago we didn't have enough ice to get out and fish. It's just not that predictable here. The longest I have ever seen the lakes locked up is 9 weeks.
We are, however, subject to winter-related fish kills. Trust me. My phone rings off the hook after ice out. Most of these ponds are highly fertile, shallow, and overstocked as you would figure. I give the same advice as others have already posted, keep windows open by removing snow. Our bigger, state managed lakes will occassionally have mild kills.....mostly shad. This is my favorite time to fish for channel cats using shad sides and shad guts:)
