65-Foot Nutcracker Puts Small Minnesota Town on World Map

A 65-foot nutcracker named Verne now towers over Luverne, Minnesota, standing more than twice as tall as the current world record holder in Germany. The nearly $600,000 statue is already drawing visitors from across the globe, just months after its completion.

The small town of Luverne sits just off Interstate 90, about 30 miles from Sioux Falls and 200 miles from Minneapolis. For years, travelers would speed past on their way to bigger destinations, and city leaders wanted to change that.

Their solution? Build something impossible to ignore.

The nutcracker stands 65 feet and 7.5 inches tall, with a pedestal adding another 9 feet. The pieces were crafted in Utah and assembled on site, creating a statue that dwarfs the 33-foot record holder in Neuhausen, Germany.

The project took several years to complete, with designer Katie Walgrave leading the effort. "Anytime you see something weirdly big or weirdly small, we're going to be interested in it," she said.

The town already had one claim to fame: a herd of bison at Blue Mounds State Park. But city leaders wanted something truly unique, something that would make people exit the highway.

Enter Betty Mann, who owns the second-largest nutcracker collection in the United States. She has gathered over 7,000 nutcrackers since 2001, enough to outnumber Luverne's entire population.

Mann donated her collection to the Rock County Historical Society, filling two rooms with her treasures. The giant statue was inspired partly by her passion, and she hopes it will introduce more people to the town's hidden gems.

The Ripple Effect

Since Verne arrived in June, local businesses have seen a steady stream of new faces. Visitors from Wales and China have made the trip specifically to see the towering statue, turning what was once a highway blur into a destination worth exploring.

"We've just needed something to pull people off the interstate," said Vance Walgrave, owner of Those Blasted Things. The strategy is working better than anyone expected.

The nutcracker joins Minnesota's growing collection of quirky record holders, including the state's largest ice maze and tallest family. For Luverne residents, though, Verne represents something deeper than just a roadside attraction.

"It brings people to Luverne to see what we have," Mann said. "And then you'll see all the good things that we have in our museum here."

The statue is more than a marketing gimmick; it's a symbol of what small communities can accomplish when they dream big and work together.