65-foot Nutcracker statue (Those Blasted Things)

Luverne, Minnesota, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

Verne the Patriot, an Uncle Sam-styled nutcracker with a working jaw, stands 65 feet 7½ inches tall beside a rock shop in Luverne, Minnesota. It was unveiled in July 2026; the city has submitted it to Guinness World Records.

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65-foot Nutcracker statue (Those Blasted Things)

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Site-level location · 43.6434° N, 96.2133° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Luverne, a town of about 5,000, already had more nutcrackers than people. Now it has a 65-foot one. Verne the Patriot, dressed as Uncle Sam, stands 65 feet 7½ inches tall, and according to the shop's operators the pedestal lifts him a further 9 feet. The Associated Press reported that he has a working jaw.

The idea grew from the town's collection. CBS News, using AP reporting, traced it to a local woman who began buying nutcrackers in 2001 and in 2016 donated more than 2,500 of them to the historical society; the collection now numbers 7,554. After a tourism expert advised the city to make use of it, a city committee proposed building the world's tallest nutcracker.

The pieces were designed and built in Ogden, Utah, by WhiteClouds, according to KSL: roughly 9,000 pounds of foam, metal and coating, excluding the base and support tower, which were built in Minnesota. Parts were assembled in the parking lot of Those Blasted Things, a rock shop, and a crane lifted the head and hat into place. the shop's operators said the cost was around $600,000, met by donations and grants, and that the statue was finished in mid-June 2026. A ribbon-cutting on 18 July 2026 revealed the name and height.

The record is not settled. Guinness World Records ranked, as of July 2026 reports, a 33-foot nutcracker in Neuhausen, Germany, as the largest, and KSL reported that Luverne has submitted Verne for consideration.

The project is funded through the nonprofit Just For Nuts, which holds a lifetime easement on the land from the shop. It sits on that private business parking lot, so park considerately and enjoy it from outside.

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Verne stands outdoors beside the Those Blasted Things rock shop in Luverne, on land held by a nonprofit under a lifetime easement. It is in a private business parking lot; CBS News reported hundreds of people at the July 2026 opening.

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Beside the Those Blasted Things rock shop in Luverne, on the shop's parking lot (private business land held by a nonprofit under easement).

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42 km away

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