ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Feed the ducks at your own risk.
The St. Cloud City Council voted 7-2 this week to make feeding waterfowl on public property a misdemeanor. The measure is designed to keep migrating birds from staying in the city year-round and polluting the water.
Last year, about 300 ducks and geese that stayed at Lake George through the winter kept a hole in the ice and prevented people from enjoying the lake, said Sam Wenstrom, a resident who supported the ordinance.
"They stay because of handouts," he said. "What should be the shining jewel in the middle of the city turned into a cesspool."
Feeding the birds will now be a public nuisance subject to a first-time warning and a fine of $25 to $100 for repeated offenses.
