My wife and I are on a mission to visit all the oversized local landmarks throughout Minnesota. This blog chronicles those visits and covers other related topics.

Monday, April 28, 2008

World's Largest Art Tractor

March 20th, 2008 - New York Mills, MN

World's Largest Art Tractor

This was our last stop on this trip. This giant tractor is located on the north side of Highway 10 in New York Mills at the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center Sculpture Park. The tractor was created by Ken Nyberg out of welded steel. Nyberg has a number of other sculptures in central Minnesota, most notably at the Vining Sculpture Park. The tractor is also the logo for the Cultural Center.

World's Largest Art Tractor
Nyberg signed this piece with his welder.

New York Mills is a unique town. It's a small farming community in central Minnesota, but is very close to the many lakes of Ottertail County. New York Mills puts a high value on art and culture, lead by the Regional Cultural Center. It's claim to fame is the Great American Think-Off. The Think-Off is open to anyone and everyone and is now in it's 16th year. Contestants submit an essay on the topic for the year and a panel selects four finalists. The finalists debate the topic in New York Mills and the audience votes to decide the winner, or "America's Greatest Thinker". Past finalists have included teachers, priests, retirees, a 15 year old cheerleader, writers, and others from many states. This year's topic is “Does immigration strengthen or threaten the United States?” The final debate will be June 14th.

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