Have You Seen What’s Back on Top of RPU’s Water Towers in Rochester?
They're back again, and you might have seen them on top of several water towers here in Rochester. But what are they-- and why are they there?
You might have seen them already-- but what are they?
As it turns out, your eyes aren't deceiving you-- those ARE brightly-colored wind dancers, perched high atop several RPU water towers. (For instance, I first noticed one on the water tower outside Apache Mall in Rochester earlier this week.)
You know what a wind dancer is, right? They're the same kind of things you might see at a store or car dealer to draw attention to the big sale they might be having. They use the breeze to move (to and fro, as my grandma used to say) in the wind as if they're dancing. (Thus the name.)
Okay, so why are wind dancers on top of certain Rochester water towers?
Well, according to RPU's Plugged In, those wind dancers have been perched atop several water towers in Rochester again this spring, not to attract attention, but to scare off... turkey vultures and other birds.
Much like all the mess the crows cause in downtown Rochester each fall, turkey vultures had a habit of nesting on and around water towers. And, much like the crows do downtown in the fall and winter, those buzzards create quite the mess in, on, and around those water towers that RPU then has to clean up.
These wind dancers save RPU some serious cash
The constant motion created by these wind dancers, though, scares the birds away, eliminates the mess, and saves some money, too. RPU says cleaning up after the birds used to cost "thousands of dollars," but installing a wind dancer costs "just a fraction." RPU first installed them back in 2015, and some have now appeared again on certain water towers here in the Med City.
They sure do attract attention, though. A friend who lives back in Wisconsin noticed the wind dancer on the water tower near Apache Mall while driving through Rochester last week and asked me who dared to climb the tower to pull off what he thought was a pretty funny practical joke.
But, no, they're supposed to be there-- and now, it's not a mystery as to why they're there. Speaking of mysteries, though, there still some here in Minnesota for which we don't have an answer. Keep scrolling to check out 10 Unsettling Minnesota Mysteries!
Listen to Curt St. John mornings from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and afternoons from 2 to 6 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc!
10 Unsettling Unsolved Mysteries from Minnesota
More From 106.9 KROC-FM
