Saskatoon’s Prairie Lily ship targeted by vandals

The co-owner of a ship that’s offered river tours in Saskatoon since 2012 says she’s disappointed after the boat was vandalized this week.

Joan Steckhan said she got a call around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday from the security company that oversees the Prairie Lily riverboat  at its dock on the South Saskatchewan River.

She arrived to find security guards and police watching over a disheartening scene.

“We found a lot of broken glass. We found some of our equipment had been thrown in the river and just sort of some general damage had been done to the ship.”

Steckhan said the ship has been targeted by thieves and vandals before.

“I think there’s lots of people in Saskatoon that really like the ship and take a personal interest in it, and when you find out there’s some folks out there that really don’t care and will do whatever they please, it’s really disappointing. It kind of gets you.”

With this year’s river cruises not slated to start until Mother’s Day weekend, Steckhan said there was still time to get the Prairie Lily back in shape without any delays to the schedule.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Brent Bosker