Paul Bunyan (Akeley kneeling)

The self-styled birthplace of Paul Bunyan has a giant who kneels so that visitors can sit in his hand. The Akeley statue on State Highway 34 was completed in 1984, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and is billed as the 'World's Largest Paul Bunyan', although the Trust notes that it is not the tallest; standing upright, it estimates, he would reach about 60 feet.

The maker was Dean Krotzer (1931 to 2011), a self-taught sculptor who had moved to the Akeley area in 1983. According to the Park Rapids Enterprise in 2024, he saw the giant cradle displayed in town, heard the local claim that Akeley is Paul Bunyan's birthplace, and thought the town should have a statue to match. His daughter said the town contributed some money and the family added their own. Krotzer and his sons built the steel frame in the family's yard and finished the figure in fiberglass, with baling twine for the beard; the National Trust says the hair and beard took more than a mile of twine. The head was made separately and lifted on to the frame by crane, and the family said it took over a year. Krotzer's daughter said he wanted a figure that was welcoming to the public, and that the kneeling pose and open palm were chosen so that people could sit in his hand. She also recalled that he built the jaw and eyes so that they could move, a feature that was never finished.