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Minnesota Statues (page 2)

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Astronaut
Vining, MN		 Rocky Taconite
Silver Bay, MN
This Astronaut statue was created by Ken Nyberg from scrap metal. It is one of several statues installed in Nyberg Park. Nyberg's daughter was an astronaut on the Space Shuttle. For more, see this website. [map]

Rocky Taconite was built in 1964. The statue is made of steel storage tanks. He wears a miner's hat and stands on a taconite boulder. Silver Bay is considered the taconite capital of the world. For more, see this website. [map]

Pitchfork Pete [gone]
Albert Lea, MN
The Pitchfork Pete statue was an adapted pizza chef statue like these in Illinois. The statue had been installed next to the Fleet Farm Supply store since the 1970s. These photos are from 2012. The statue was still there in 2016. By 2018, the store had closed and the statue was gone.

Otto the Clown
Ottertail, MN		 Hobo
Starbuck, MN
This statue of Otto the Clown is located at Otter Treat. I suspect that he originally later held balloons and now holds an ice cream cone. [map]

This Hobo statue is about eight feet tall. It is located at the Hobo Park Campground. This location was a former hobo camp during the Depression. [map]

Robin Hood
Aitkin, MN
This fiberglass statue of Robin Hood is 15 feet tall. It was made by FAST Fiberglass and stands in front of the Sherwood Forest RV Resort. [map]

Jolly Green Giant
Blue Earth, MN
The Jolly Green Giant is the mascot for the Green Giant Frozen Foods Company. This is 55-foot-tall statue was made by Creative Display. It cost $43,000 and was installed in 1979. The funding came from individuals and local businesses in Blue Earth looking to produce a tourist attraction for the town. For more, see this website. [map]

Coming King
Owatonna, MN
The Coming King statue depicts Jesus Christ on horseback. It is located at the Christian Family Church. The statue was based on the description in Revelations of Christ's second coming. The 18-foot-tall bronze statue was produced by Max Greiner, Jr. and installed in 2010. In 2023, it was announced that this statue would be moved to a sculpture garden, along with some other statues and a 77-foot-tall cross next to I-35. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Fisherman
International Falls, MN
This Fisherman is carved from wood and is about 12 feet tall. He stands in front of the Fisherman convenience store. [map]

Lumberjack
Bigfork, MN		 St. Urho
Menahga, MN
This Lumberjack stands in front of City Hall. The original statue was carved by Tom Hennagir and installed around 1975. In 1989, it was cut down by vandals. The statue was then replaced with this one. For more, see this website. [map]

This statue of St. Urho is a fiberglass replica of a wood-carved statue that was installed here in 1982. St. Urho is the patron saint of Finland who drove grasshoppers out of the country before the Ice Age. This American myth was developed in the 1950s. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Iron Man
Chisholm, MN
This Iron Man sculpture was built as a tribute to iron ore miners of northeastern Minnesota. It is entitled "The Emergence of Man Through Steel. It was designed by Jack Anderson and dedicated in 1987. The statue including the base is 81 feet tall. The base is made of Corten steel. The 36-foot-tall miner is made of copper, iron, bronze and steel and has a brass sheathing. [map]

Joe Rolette & Ox Cart
Crookston, MN
These statues paid tribute to Joe Rolette, the Father of the Pembina Trail. The trail was an early commercial route used to haul furs and supplies from Pembina to St. Paul. The statues of Joe and the Ox Cart were installed in front of the Red River Valley Shows building. They were built in 1965 by Ernie Konikson. The statue of Joe is about 15 feet tall. These photos are from 2011. Sometime after 2012, the ox was removed. In 2017, the cart was found to be too far gone to be restored and it was destroyed. Only the statue of Joe remains. For more, see this website. [map]

Finnish Workers
Embarrass, MN
These five wood-carved statues of Finnish Workers are located at the entrance to town next to the giant thermometer and weather station. I don't know when they were built or who the artist was. Three of the statues have been there since at least 2012. [photos thanks Tom Deupree] [map]

Dave, Don, and Jeff [gone]
Franconia, MN
These 22-foot-tall silver figures entitled Dave, Don, and Jeff were created by Donald Myhre in 2006. The aluminized polyester drapery was deteriorating when these photos were taken in 2008. They were installed at the Franconia Sculpture Park. By 2009, the sculptures were gone. For more, see this website.

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