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A 65-foot nutcracker in Luverne, MN, drawing visitors worldwide
A giant nutcracker in Luverne, Minnesota, is drawing visitors from across the world. FOX 9's Maury Glover has more on how it came to be and how local residents are responding to the influx in tourism.
LUVERNE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The talk of the town in Luverne, Minnesota, could soon be a world record holder as the world’s tallest nutcracker statue.
World’s largest nutcracker
What we know:
The statue stands 65 feet and 7.5 inches tall, with a pedestal pushing "Verne" an extra 9 feet in height.
The previous record holder stands at a 33-foot-tall in Neuhausen, Germany, that Guinness World Records currently ranks as the largest.
The backstory:
The nutcracker was several years in the making, costing around $600,000, with pieces being crafted in Utah then assembled in Laverne.
"We know he's the tallest because he is almost twice as tall as the current world record holder," Katie Walgrave, who designed the statue previously told FOX 9.
The statue sits just a block from the interstate, with the goal of enticing travelers to stop and explore Luverne instead of driving past on I-90. Finished in June 2026, it has already drawn visitors from as far as Wales and China.
"We've just needed something to pull people off the interstate before they get to Sioux Falls or something like that. It's basically we're trying to mine the interstate," said Vance Walgrave, owner of Those Blasted Things.
Luverne is about 30 miles from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and about 200 miles from Minneapolis.
Why you should care:
The idea for the giant nutcracker came after city leaders wanted a new attraction, something even more unique than the area’s previous claim to fame — a herd of bison at Blue Mounds State Park. A marketing consultant suggested something that would truly stand out.
Betty Mann, who has the second-largest collection of nutcrackers in the United States, played a big role in inspiring the project.
Mann has collected over 7,000 nutcrackers since 2001, enough to fill two rooms at the Rock County Historical Society and outnumber the residents of Luverne.
Mann donated her collection to the historical society, and she hopes the new statue will bring even more people to see what Luverne has to offer.
Since the nutcracker’s arrival, local businesses have seen a surge in visitors.
"It brings people to Laverne to see what we have. And then you'll see all the good things that we have in our museum here. And that was my intent," said Mann.
"I've been hearing nutty a lot, but we'll see," said Vance Walgrave.
For many in Luverne, the nutcracker is more than just a statue — it’s a symbol of community pride and a way to put the town on the map.
"Anytime you see something weirdly big or weirdly small, we're going to be interested in it. So if we can have something weirdly big that brings people off of the interstate and off of the highway and from all over the world, we are going to do it," said Katie Walgrave.
The nutcracker joins other Minnesota record-holders, such as the largest ice maze and the tallest family, adding to the state’s reputation for quirky, oversized attractions.