Yep, gross.*

Menomonie Mayor Randy Knaack is so tired of all the scum in his fair city, he’s literally built a machine to rid Lake Menomin of its stinky problem.

Lake Menomin, Menomonie’s picturesque-if-not-for-the-decaying-algae body of water, may soon be getting a makeover.  If you’ve ever visited the lake, or even glimpsed at the surface for more than 10 seconds, you’re sure to have noticed the petulant blue-green algae giving the water a don’t-even-think-about-stepping-foot-in-me look.  Charming, right?

Knaack doesn’t think so. Instead of sitting back in his big (probably leather) mayor’s chair, bemoaning the problem, he has taken matters into his own hands, deciding to MacGyver that algae to kingdom come – he built (and funded) a machine that can literally suck the algae off the lake’s surface. You read that right. Menomonie’s mayor is so dedicated to solving the algae problem, he has reached into his own pockets to eradicate the pesky scum. According to Knaack, who is "eager to make a difference" and "bring this situation under control", the algae machine is scheduled to "set sail" again mid-summer after some equipment modifications are made.

Knaack's goals? Eliminate scum, yes. Eliminate odor, yes. But much more than that, actually: he ultimately hopes to shed more light on this issue and let the people of Menomonie know that this problem is not too huge to be solved.

The best part of this idea? Once the machine gets some more funding and is up-and-running, Knaack hopes to get members of City Council to hop on and take a ride.  I don’t know about you, but the image of local government officials cruising around Lake Menomin on an algae-sucking machine really made my day.

Mayor Randy’s scum-sucker: an idea that definitely doesn’t suck.  Well, actually, it does suck, but … you know what I mean.  

*This is not algae from Lake Menomin. We didn't want to get that close.