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More than 50 people attended a public hearing Monday night in Luverne City Hall where the Board of Appeals and Adjustments considered a variance request for a 73-foot-tall nutcracker on South Highway 75.
The meeting allowed for public comment, and several people spoke in favor of — and some in opposition to — what will be “The World’s Largest Nutcracker.”
It will be funded Just For Nuts Inc., a Luverne private nonprofit that has drawn more than $200,000 in local donations and $50,000 from the Blandin Foundation.
Structurally, the 65-foot-tall nutcracker will stand on an 8-foot-tall pedestal and will be supported by an existing 40-foot-tall solid steel post that once carried a “Mobil” sign for a service station.
The property is home to Those Blasted Things, opened more than 20 years ago by Vance and Becky Walgrave, who granted an easement to the nonprofit in order to build the giant nutcracker.
They and their daughter, Katie, are on the Just For Nuts board, which submitted the variance request to the city for the oversized structure last month.
The city’s ordinance allows for signs up to 96 square feet. The proposed sign is roughly 600 square feet, so the Walgraves applied for a variance in order to request an exception to the rule.
As part of the variance process, the city hosted a public hearing to share information and field comments.
The proposal
At the start of the hearing, Vance Walgrave explained the rationale for their giant nutcracker idea.
He said he and his family saw an opportunity to capture interstate traffic to build on tourism that the nutcracker collection is already attracting downtown.
“We have an opportunity to pick off a lot of these people with our nutcracker,” he said. “It’s a known fact that people don’t stop just once if they’ve had a good experience. They come back.”
His daughter, Katie, shared more information.
“The Rock County History Center has the third-largest nutcracker collection in the world, as well as local history,” she said. “We can see by the number of people visiting there, it’s working.”
She said their location at Those Blasted Things is the perfect place for the structure, because it’s private property where a large sign already used to be. (She pointed out that Mobil sign that once topped the post was slightly shorter but larger than the proposed nutcracker.)
“If we can get them off the interstate that’s already our biggest hurdle,” she said.
“For motorists traveling west on I-90, the nutcracker will loom on the horizon just as they pass Luverne’s nutcracker billboard.”
She also pointed out that the Just For Nuts nonprofit has a lifetime easement for the sign and the parking lot.
It also allows plenty of space for people to take pictures with the nutcracker.
The concrete base will be 8 feet tall with stairs going up to it so people can stand at the foot of the nutcracker with space to walk around and a railing for safety.
“The people that we’re working with, the fabricators, are Chicago Fiberglas Works and engineering firm Mobile Film Construction,” Katie Walgrave said.
“Both are used to making unusual projects, and that makes them ideal; they can think outside the box for our outside-the-box project. … And they’re from Chicago so they’re used to wind and building things to withstand it.”
The nonprofit will set up a fund to support future maintenance, such as repainting every 10 to 15 years.
Anticipated economic impact
Katie pointed out that the Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth County brings in 40,000 people since the community started promoting the statue for tourists.
Considering the already growing interest in the nutcracker collection downtown, she estimates Luverne could bring in 50,000 people per year.
“If only 5 percent of those 50,000 spend $200 – getting gas, staying and getting something to eat, that’s $500,000 per year for our local economy,” she said.
“That’s taxable dollars from people not in our community. Considering the multiplier effect, that’s $3.5 million into our community. That’s a lot of money per year at no cost to anyone here.”
She said she’ll contact the Guinness World Book of Records when the nutcracker is built. “We’ll have the bragging rights to the world’s largest nutcracker. There are people out there seeking world record attractions.”
The nonprofit Just for Nuts will continue raising money and will support other future ventures in the community.
Katie quoted from the Blandin website: “Vibrant communities don’t arrive by accident, and they’re not going to last long in isolation. Resilient communities make their own future, both by taking responsibility for it and by building powerful networks of sustaining relationships. These actions catalyze a community’s ability to expand opportunities for all its residents.”
She said that’s exactly why Blandin gave them the grant.
“They saw what we’re doing and saw it as a good idea to help the community,” she said.
“Getting people to come off the interstate is the biggest hurdle. This nutcracker will accomplish that.”
Public comments
Tammy Makram, who ran the Coffey Haus on Main Street for 10 years, was among the first to speak at the hearing.
“I truly believe the Coffey Haus would still be here if we’d had something to draw people off the interstate and bring them downtown,” she said.
“We had events to bring people to town, but it wasn’t enough to bring people to town year-round.”
She said the Walgraves’ nutcracker will be good for everyone in town.
“When I had my coffee shop, people would come from the Blue Mounds State Park into town for a latte,” she said.
Shawn Kinsinger, Palace Theatre director, also spoke in favor of the nutcracker as a tourism draw.
He said he’s given more than 100 tours of the Palace to visiting groups, sometimes as many as 60 people, and they’re always interested in seeing other points of interest in town.
“It never fails that the nutcracker collection is on their list of places and things to see and do,” he said.
“The nutcracker collection absolutely does bring people into Luverne. I have watched tour groups come into the Palace, excited for a tour, carrying their newly purchased nutcracker souvenirs with them.”
Scott Wessels, who has been vocal about his opposition to the plan on his “Luverne Chatter” Facebook blog, also spoke Monday.
He expressed doubt about the estimated numbers of tourists the nutcracker would attract and said it would be better placed downtown.
“I don’t know if that’s going to be any additional people that aren’t already coming off the interstate for gas,” he said. “I don’t know how they calculate that.”
He also wondered if the additional tourists would benefit a select few businesses on South Highway 75.
“The additional traffic will be at Those Blasted Things, the gas station across the street, the Howling Dog, the new restaurant in the old 75 diner, maybe JJ’s,” he said.
“I don’t know how far down the road the benefits will be appreciated. … I think it should be at the History Center to bring people all the way downtown.”
He questioned the precedent of approving this variance.
“My concern is, once you open a can of worms there. … How many large statues are we going to be allowed to have? If we say yes to one, should we say yes to another one?”
And he questioned the town’s affiliation with nutcrackers.
“To be honest, the Jolly Green Giant has a legacy … the people of Blue Earth embraced the statue of the Jolly Green Giant because it was a large employer of the community. It was something they grew up loving. … it had something to do with their community,” Wessels said.
“This is a more recent event that not everyone has embraced.”
Lori Hallstrom operates a gallery downtown and formerly had a retail store. She defended the Walgraves’ intent.
“One thing I do know is that when I was open, Those Blasted Things would send everybody to Main Street,” she said. “I see this as a great opportunity. It’s visible from the interstate. It gets people there, where they’ll tell them about downtown to see the nutcracker collection.”
Chamber Director Jane Lanphere shared a story about a phone call she received from a charter bus driver who is bringing three chartered buses, 165 people total, to Luverne this spring.
“They’re going to stay in Luverne and dine on their own at night. They’re probably each spending $200. So that’s $300,000,” she said.
“Why did they pick Luverne? Because the man who was planning the tour was trying to find something that would satisfy both the men and women. He said the nutcrackers and the military museum were the perfect combination.”
Lanphere also shared about a conversation she had recently with the Chamber director in Austin who wanted to know which contractors were going to build Luverne’s nutcracker.
“She said when Hormel decided privately to build a museum about canned meat, there were people in Austin who said that did not represent Austin, and they did not want to associate themselves with a stinky pork plant,” Lanphere said.
“Today that museum brings 100,000 traveler per year to Austin. Every retail and service business in that community has benefited. She said they are now planning to put statues of dancing pigs along the highway — 22-foot statues – to draw more people into the town. Hooks are what brings more traffic into town.”
DJ Luethje worked for 18 years for Explore Minnesota Tourism at the rest area on I-90.
“People are always asking, ‘What’s there to see? What’s different here from other states?’ There’s the Jolly Green Giant, Spam Museum, the Shoe in Redwing, … people want to stop and make memories,” she said.
“Let’s do this. I think it’s a great idea.”
Diana Hensley of the Cozy Rest Hotel said the local CVB board has for years tried to promote things in Luverne that make the town special.
“We have prairie and we have bison, but so many coming through our area on their way to the Black Hills are not necessarily impressed with our small herd,” she said.
“So many things that we’ve tried have not been unique enough to draw people in. This is an opportunity to draw people to Luverne for something unusual, and it will differentiate our community from all the other prairie towns along I-90.”
Several other citizens and businesspeople spoke at the meeting, and the Board of Appeals and Adjustments had also received nearly a dozen written statements.
Becky Walgrave informed the group that a mural at Those Blasted Things near the giant nutcracker will be completed to promote other areas of interest in the community. It will also have room to promote local businesses.
“If anyone’s concerned that we’re doing this for Those Blasted Things, we’re doing this because we’re proud of Luverne and we want to make it go,” she said.
“We’re hoping that people will also go downtown. That’s our goal. That’s why we started this.”
She shared a story about a mom, daughter and granddaughter from Columbus, Nebraska, who recently stopped in. They came specifically because they heard about the History Center’s nutcracker collection
“They stayed overnight. They searched for all the nutcrackers and took pictures with them. They did things downtown. When they heard about the large nutcracker, they said, ‘We will be back.’”
Board chair Caroline Thorson thanked attendees and especially those who spoke.
“That’s what this is for, and I appreciate your comments and the fact that you took time out of your night to come and learn and to share with us your thoughts and opinions.”
She said at the next meeting on April 3 the board will take action on the variance request. Meeting time is 5 p.m.