Last fall, the boat named “Deep Thought" ran aground on Milwaukee’s lakefront. Resisting multiple attempts to pull it back into the water, the stranded boat became a unique, purely local pop culture phenomenon.

Known for a while as “The Minnow” on Google Maps, the boat was eventually pulled over the rocky embankment on the lakeshore. People watching livestreams could see the tow truck bearing the Minnow climb the Hoan Bridge, and from there, out of sight. For all we knew, the boat was gone. Word quickly got around that the Minnow was in its new home All City Towing, located in the very heart of Milwaukee’s Garden District.

This successful tow was paid for by the MIlwaukee County government. (McKinley Marina and Bradford Beach, where the boat was stranded, are both county property, and the boat’s owners declared it abandoned.) To recoup the cost of the tow, the county has put the Minnow up for auction, and bidding is now underway. At what cost is this curious piece of Milwaukee pop culture history? The 27th bid came in at $1,000 a few hours ago. We’ll find out soon enough how much it sold for.

(GDNA has no connection to anyone involved with the auction, or the boat.)