MASON CITY – 
Randy Gorley was hard at work Thursday afternoon mowing grass on Highway 122 in Mason City.
Thing is, he didn’t have to push, pull, or get dirty.
That’s because of a nifty gadget the city purchased to make his job easier and safer.
Mason City’s Parks and Rec. Department purchased a Spider ILD02 remote-controlled mower in the summer of 2010 at a cost of $40,000 to make mowing on slopes, viaducts and other hard to handle areas easier to maintain. The mower is ideal for viaducts due to its ability to scale a slope of up to 41 degrees and light construction.
“It’s much safer than the tractor-mowers we were using. No danger of tipping over,” Randy said.
Randy admits that running the mower in the city gives passers-by a reason to stop and chat. “I got people stopping all the time to check this out. One guy came running right up to it. I shut it down right away. He said he just had to have a closer look.”
The mower is bright yellow and easy to spot from the road. At first glance you might not even realize there is a city employee running the equipment.
Randy holds a small radio-controlled transmitter with controls on it that directs where the mower goes. The transmitter has a range of 100 meters and can control the travel speed and direction of the mower, or shut it down in an emergency.
When one side of the viaduct is mowed, he can direct it across the street without re-loading it in a pick-up truck.
Watch video of mower:
