http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/lake-altoona-wi-s441.jpg"Free" environmental project that Republican state Senate candidate Michele Magadance Skinner boasted about in ads would actually cost over $1 million according to estimates.

MADISON, WI – New reporting from Heartland Signal revealed that the local environmental project that Michele Magadance Skinner boasted about in a recent campaign ad failed before it began. In the ad, Skinner states that she acquired a machine to clear out sediment building up in Lake Altoona for free.

However, county records show that installing the machine would cost an estimated $1 million, and the County Board secured $1.3 million in taxpayer-funded grants towards the project. After a cost-benefit analysis conducted by the county board, they, including Magadance Skinner, voted to scrap the project altogether.

Heartland Signal: Skinner brags about failed Lake Altoona project in campaign ad

• “Wisconsin Republican state Senate candidate Michele Magadance Skinner is running a campaign ad bragging about a local environmental fix she supposedly implemented for free as a local official.”

• “But county records show the project failed to launch, with Skinner eventually voting to scrap it a year ago in 2025. And if testing proved successful, the project would have cost over $1 million to implement.”

• “She is currently running a campaign ad that greatly overestimates the value of a failed project she oversaw as the chairwoman of the Lake Altoona District Board.”

• “The project Skinner referred to involved the board acquiring a 30-foot bedload sediment collector, a machine to help combat Lake Altoona’s ongoing sand buildup problem.”

• “Records show that the machine was never installed in Lake Altoona and that Skinner herself voted to sell its parts for scrap last year.”

• “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) purchased the $1.2 million machine and donated it to Lake Altoona. Despite Skinner claiming the machine was “free,” a pilot project document from 2023 says the machine would have cost an estimated $1 million to install.”

• “The board used an $800,000 grant from the U.S. Congress, $500,000 from the state and funding from Eau Claire County to help pay for the project’s costs.”

• “Oct. 21, 2024: USACE tests were proven inconclusive. The risks and return on investment concerns lead to a straw poll among attendees, who “overwhelmingly” indicated district members no longer support the collector.”

• “Feb. 13, 2024: Process Engineers, a company that specialized in sediment projects, reported that the amount of sand collected by the machine would not justify the cost.”

• “March 12, 2025: USACE rescinds offer to cover costs to repair the collector ($50,000). Bedload collector is “on a shelf” due to support system collapsing.”

• “July 2, 2025: A motion to scrap parts of the bedload collector for salvage is seconded by Michele Skinner.”

• “The Lake Altoona District Board also collects an additional property tax that is partially used for special projects like addressing the sediment issue. In 2023, Skinner oversaw an increase in the mill rate to the maximum $2.50 for every $1,000 of property valuation.”

• “Skinner unsuccessfully sought the Wisconsin 91st Assembly District seat in 2024, when she lost to incumbent Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) in the general election.”