Politics & Government

April Fools: Were You Punked by Maplewood's Mulch Announcement?

An email blast from city hall informed Maplewood residents that they could pay for city fees with spare mulch.

Call me gullible, but Sunday's announcement that the city of Maplewood would waive city fees in exchange for spare mulch excited me.

Rachelle L'Ecuyer, Maplewood's community development director, sent out an email blast on Sunday that noted, "The mild winter created a mulch shortage for Maplewood. The situation has become so dire that the city staff had an emergency meeting today regarding a serious lack of mulch to use for city parks and trees in the treelawns."

The email continued with information on how residents and businesses could potentially exchange pounds of mulch for dollars.

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Finally, a link with more information directed readers to a page on the city's website that noted the whole thing was an April Fools Day prank.

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This is the second consecutive year that L'Ecuyer has sent out a funny April Fools Day email. Last year, the email blast noted that two new Maplewood businesses, Toast-R's and Cup o' Cheese, had opened in the city. Both businesses even had lengthy descriptions.

"I believe the element of surprise is the key here but also the craziness of the idea has to catch people, too," said L'Ecuyer in an email to Patch. "It has to be nutty enough that people are going to question it while they are wrapping their head around it. "

L'Ecuyer worked on the project in her spare time. She said she already has a good idea for next year, but is keeping it secret for now.

What April Fools Day pranks did you fall for? Let us know in the comments.


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