A Minnesota town now boasts the world’s tallest nutcracker

A Minnesota town now boasts the world’s tallest nutcracker 1 of 6 | The small town of Luverne now hosts a 65-foot tall nutcracker, decked out like Uncle Sam in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary. (AP Video by Sarah Raza) 2 of 6 | Verne the Patriot, a nutcracker sculpture, is unveiled in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) 3 of 6 | Thousands of nutcrackers are displayed at the Rock County History Center in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) 4 of 6 | Verne the Patriot rises behind the shop Those Blasted Things in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) 5 of 6 | A city welcome sign greets visitors as they exit the interstate into Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) 6 of 6 | People gather for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Verne the Patriot in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) 1 of 6 The small town of Luverne now hosts a 65-foot tall nutcracker, decked out like Uncle Sam in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary. (AP Video by Sarah Raza) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 6 | Verne the Patriot, a nutcracker sculpture, is unveiled in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) 2 of 6 Verne the Patriot, a nutcracker sculpture, is unveiled in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 6 | Thousands of nutcrackers are displayed at the Rock County History Center in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) 3 of 6 Thousands of nutcrackers are displayed at the Rock County History Center in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 6 | Verne the Patriot rises behind the shop Those Blasted Things in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) 4 of 6 Verne the Patriot rises behind the shop Those Blasted Things in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 6 | A city welcome sign greets visitors as they exit the interstate into Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) 5 of 6 A city welcome sign greets visitors as they exit the interstate into Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 6 of 6 | People gather for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Verne the Patriot in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) 6 of 6 People gather for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Verne the Patriot in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Luverne, Minn. (AP) — Crossing the open farmland of southwestern Minnesota, you’ll encounter an otherworldly sight: a massive head with a beard, mustache and red-striped top hat looming over the horizon.Pull into the small town of Luverne and the figure — a nearly 66-foot (20-meter) tall nutcracker, decked out like Uncle Sam — comes into full view.Luverne, which thanks to a local collector claims to have more of the decorative figurines than people, now boasts the world’s tallest nutcracker too. And yes, the star-spangled behemoth has a working jaw.Outside a quirky rock shop in the town’s center, hundreds of people gathered for a weekend ribbon cutting where the nutcracker’s name and exact height were revealed to a crowd that was later served red, white and blue cookies and slushies.“Please welcome our newest Luverne resident, Verne the Patriot,” Katie Walgrave announced to cheers. It stands 65 feet and 7 1/2 inches tall, with the pedestal pushing Verne an additional 9 feet (2.7 meters) over the surrounding prairie, according to Walgrave. That’s almost twice the height of a 33-foot (10-meter) tall nutcracker in Neuhausen, Germany, that Guinness World Records currently has ranked as the largest. Walgrave, who runs the rock shop called Those Blasted Things with her family, said that since the nutcracker was completed in mid-June, customers have quadrupled. Other local businesses have reported more traffic too.