Giant nutcracker
By Lori SorensonJuly 22, 2026The World’s Largest Nutcracker, “Verne,” was dedicated and named Saturday morning with a ribbon-cutting celebration at the nutcracker’s base on South Highway 75 in Luverne. “Please welcome our newest Luverne resident, Verne the Patriot,” Katie Walgrave announced from atop the nutcracker’s 8-foot-tall pedestal next to Those Blasted Things, owned by the Walgrave family. “His name was a…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJuly 08, 2026At 10 a.m. Saturday, July 18, on South Highway 75 the largest nutcracker in the world will be dedicated in alignment with a pretty significant birthday. Mine. In a way, the Luverne nutcracker and I will now share a birthday. In my 63 trips around the sun I’ve had some pretty amazing birthdays. One or two have fallen on Hot Dog Night. Forty years ago, I was a bride-to-be. Thirty-two…
By Nicole RonchettiJune 24, 2026The long-awaited day has arrived, and Luverne is now home to the world’s largest nutcracker. It stands 73 feet from ground level, with the nutcracker itself towering above visitors at 65 feet, plus the 8-foot-tall base it stands on. A long-standing project, the statue stands just outside of Those Blasted Things, clearly visible from Interstate 90. According to Katie Walgrave, whose family owns…
April 22, 2026All the body parts of Luverne’s giant nutcracker are now ready to be assembled on the nutcracker’s base — which currently holds the boots, legs and torso — at Those Blasted Things in Luverne. Once it’s fully constructed on its concrete base, the nutcracker will tower 73 feet in the air — the tallest in the world. According to co-organizer Katie Walgrave, the pieces will likely be assembled early…- March 14, 2023To the Editor: The members of the Luverne Area Convention & Visitors Bureau enthusiastically support the efforts of the “Just for Nuts” 501C non-profit organization to site and construct the “world’s largest nutcracker” in Luverne. Some of us were skeptical in 2017 when Roger Brooks’ assessment told our community that our “one big, unique thing” that could grow our tourism industry was the…
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