If you drove past Elk Lake in Hoffman, Minnesota this past summer, you may have seen an unusual sight: A mechanical harvester out on the water cutting and removing aquatic vegetation.
This is the first time the city has hired a mechanical harvester, but they were dealing with a bumper crop of lakes weeds. A warm spring, low lake levels, and the effects of zebra mussels created conditions where aquatic plants thrived.
The city has funded an herbicide in previous years, but seemed to be overwhelmed by the number of weeds this year. Officials were happy with the result of the mechanical harvesting and people were able to immediately enjoy the lake after the harvester removed the weed.