'Lake creature' pops up in Mpls park

Don't be alarmed if you see a lake creature bobbing in Wirth Lake in Minneapolis this summer. It's only a whimsical sculpture that looks like a dinosaur.

Minne the Lake Creature is taking up residence in the popular lake in Theodore Wirth Park through September.

It's the first time Minne will moor in a single lake for the entire season. The 13-foot fiberglass sculpture has visited two or more Minneapolis lakes in previous years, for a total of 16.

Minneapolis sculptor Cameron Gainer was inspired by the famous 1934 "Surgeon's Photo" of the Loch Ness Monster when he created Minne. The sculpture first showed up in 2009 in Lake Harriet.

Minne is an annual public art project of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation.