Minnesota Town Unveils World’s Tallest Nutcracker, Surpassing German Record

Residents and visitors of Luverne, Minnesota gathered for a weekend ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially introduce “Verne the Patriot,” a colossal nutcracker standing 65 feet and 7 1/2 inches tall. The structure, which includes a 9-foot pedestal, now holds the distinction of being the world’s tallest nutcracker, eclipsing a 33-foot German nutcracker previously recognized by Guinness World Records. The figure, dressed in a patriotic Uncle Sam costume complete with a red-striped top hat, features a fully functional jaw mechanism.

Katie Walgrave, who operates the local rock shop Those Blasted Things with her family, credited the massive sculpture with transforming the town’s economy. Customer traffic at her shop has quadrupled since the nutcracker’s completion in mid-June, and other area businesses have reported similar increases in visitors. The project cost approximately $600,000, funded through community donations and grants, with components manufactured in Utah and assembled on site.

The town’s obsession with nutcrackers traces to Betty Mann, now 96, who began collecting the decorative figurines in 2001 after personal tragedy. Following the deaths of her daughter and husband, Mann purchased her first nutcracker from a Cracker Barrel gift shop and eventually amassed more than 2,500 pieces. She donated her entire collection to Luverne’s historical society in 2016, spurring additional donations that now total 7,554 nutcrackers—exceeding the town’s population of approximately 5,000 residents.

City officials determined that capitalizing on the nutcracker collection represented the strongest avenue for attracting tourism after consulting with an expert. The resulting plan produced Verne the Patriot, timed to coincide with the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration. The town also hosts an annual Nutcracker Fest each summer and served as a filming location for the second season of the television series “Fargo.”