Love Boat from infamous Vikings scandal is set to cruise Iowa waterways

Best story ever? Best story ever. Sent to us by astute reader Mark N.:

Colorful Okoboji area marina operator Butch Parks has bought one of the boats at the center of a 2005 Minnesota Vikings sex scandal and will offer cruises on the family friendly Iowa Great Lakes.

The fully restored boat will offer drinks, dinner, and great views, but none of the racy activities some of the Vikings were accused of while cruising on Lake Minnetonka. There were strippers and toys involved, reports indicated.

Still, Parks couldn't resist having a bit of fun when he discovered that the 1994 Skipperliner had bit of a colorful past. He thought about naming the 63-foot vessel "Love Tank" or "Mischievous" but settled on this idea from one of his staff members: "Scandalous." ... As he talked about the boat's attributes, the seller told him about the Vikings' alleged fun. "I didn't know the story," Parks said.

He does now. And he plans to plant a Vikings jersey on the boat as a reminder.

That photo to the right is a file shot from 2005, when the Vikings turned two vessels sailing Lake Minnetonka into what Jim Souhan described as a "floating brothel." The linked story from the Des Moines Register has an image of the boat that will now be renamed "Scandalous."

Feel free to make your own Vikings/Gophers/Iowa/Metrodome jokes in the comments. We can't promise they will last long, but they'll be fun while they last.

Vikings reunion, anyone?