Afton man racks up $44K in fines for beached St. Croix River boat

A half-sunk 54-foot cruiser boat abandoned on Beer Can Island in the St. Croix River has been causing headaches in Hudson, Wis.

As of Monday, the owner of the boat had racked up more than $44,000 in fines, according to Police Chief Geoff Willems.

“How these boats end up in Hudson every year, I have no idea,” Willems said Wednesday. “This is the fifth one in the last two years.”

The boat’s owner, Grayson McNew, apparently bought the 1981 Bluewater Intercoastal, named Sweet Destiny, earlier this year. McNew, 27, of Afton, did not return an email seeking comment and could not be reached by phone.

McNew, who has twice run unsuccessfully for the Minnesota House, first came to the attention of Hudson officials in July when he docked the cruiser at the city’s new boat launch in Lakefront Park, Willems said.

“It was parked there for, like, a week, and we started getting complaints about it,” Willems...