Minnesota

New Reports

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  Menahga Area Museum: St. Urho and Wally Wood

  Menahga, Minnesota

  St. Urho statue, display on famous comics artist Wally Wood, and strap-on wooden "bog shoes" for plow horses.

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  Paul Bunyan Historical Museum

  Akeley, Minnesota

  See the guestbook from the town's first Paul Bunyan Days festival in 1949, and a file cabinet time capsule sealed by local high school students in 1989.

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  Bruno the Town Dog

  Longville, Minnesota

  Town mascot conducted regular solo walks into Longville from his home four miles away. 2015 tribute was carved from a black walnut log.

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  Ken Nyberg's Workshop

  Vining, Minnesota

  Where folk artist Ken Nyberg, now in his mid-eighties, creates his giant metal sculptures.

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  Big Tom: World's Largest Turkey

  Frazee, Minnesota

  Big Tom, the biggest gobbler statue on Earth. Replaced a predecessor who was roasted in an accidental fire.

Sights for Oddball Excursions

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  World's Largest Paul Bunyan

  Akeley, Minnesota

  Akeley's towering Bunyan has dropped to one knee to let visitors perch in his mighty palm.

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  Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota

  Darwin, Minnesota

  The late Francis Johnson's famous giant ball, now the centerpiece of the town. There are four giant twine balls in America, but this is the only one with its own song.

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  Runestone Museum

  Alexandria, Minnesota

  The museum exhibits a mighty slab of cryptically carved rock. Is it a history-shaking bit of debris left by ancient Nordic litterbugs -- or a prank by a bored Minnesota farmer?

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  Big Ole: America's Biggest Viking

  Alexandria, Minnesota

  A 28-foot-tall Viking warrior towers over this town of proud Nordic transplants.

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  SPAM Museum

  Austin, Minnesota

  Hormel's tribute to its most iconic product. Spam history. Spam making, Spam art, Spam souvenirs, Spam, Spam....

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  World's Largest Crow

  Belgrade, Minnesota

  The World's Largest Crow sits atop what is probably The World's Largest Branch. Push a button inside his gazebo, and the crow cries, "AAWWRRR! AWWWWR! Welcome to Crow Country!"

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  Boxy Bunyan and Babe Statues

  Bemidji, Minnesota

  These blocky statues, built in the late 1930s, are the oldest roadside Bunyan and Babe. Both statues were restored in 2022.

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  Big Fish Supper Club

  Bena, Minnesota

  Stand inside the giant toothy jaws of a 65-foot-long muskie fish for a memorable snapshot. Briefly seen in the opening credits of "National Lampoon's Vacation."

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  Jolly Green Giant

  Blue Earth, Minnesota

  Over 55 feet tall, the Giant marks the mid-point of I-90 (America's longest highway) and "the valley" that his multi-national corporation calls home.

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  Huge Iron Man Statue

  Chisholm, Minnesota

  A 36-foot-tall brass and copper statue of an 1880s iron miner, standing on top of a 50-foot-tall pile of rusted steel and slag. Big!

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  Leapin' Walleye Fish Photo Op

  Kabetogama, Minnesota

  A 14-foot-long leaping fiberglass fish -- with a saddle on its back and a ladder to get to it. A fun photo-op.

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  Saint Urho: Grasshopper Vanquisher

  Menahga, Minnesota

  St. Urho, patron saint of Finland, is honored by a statue recreating his epic battle with giant grasshoppers.

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  Quietest Place on Earth

  Minneapolis, Minnesota

  A soundproof room in Minneapolis is so quiet that visitors hear the noises made by their joints, lungs, etc. Pricey but unique.

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  Rocky Taconite

  Silver Bay, Minnesota

  Rocky is one of our favorite metalloid mascots, a cheery byproduct of the taconite mining industry.

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  Car Smashed By UFO

  Warren, Minnesota

  Police cruiser in a county museum, preserved with weird damage made by a UFO Close Encounter in 1979.

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  Ed's Museum

  Wykoff, Minnesota

  Edwin Julius Krueger used to run the general store in this tiny town, and he never threw away anything. Including his dead cat.

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  Becker County Museum Oddities

  Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

  Killer wolf Old Three Legs is displayed along with the gun that killed him. There's a replica world's smallest gas station, and the world's largest ball of store string!

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  Cabin of the Root Beer Lady

  Ely, Minnesota

  The transplanted home of the deceased, root beer brewin' belle of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.

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  World's Largest Free-Standing Hockey Stick

  Eveleth, Minnesota

  Weighs over five tons and is 110 feet long. Displayed as if it's about to slap the world's largest hockey puck, which weighs 700 pounds.

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  Otto the Big Otter

  Fergus Falls, Minnesota

  A large, ground-hugging otter statue is a strange source of civic pride in Fergus Falls.