May 9, 2024 7 min read Articles

🪳 "Pliers & Roach"... It's ART?

"Welcome to Vining" a sign reads as you roll into town, followed by "Doorway to the Lakes."

Vining is a very small town of 68 residents located about a half hour north of Alexandria, and a very fair question to ask right now is, "Why do I care to read about this small town??"

Fair question.

Well, it might be one of the most interesting places in Minnesota that you've never heard of! It's home to "Nyberg Sculpture Park" which is an odd array of sculptures, most of which you have never seen anything else like it.

For example, the "Door Knob and Latch" piece:

We're going to dig into this odd little park in this tiny town to get the full story behind it! Why is it here? What are the sculptures? We're about to find out.

Keep reading to finish the article.

In today's email:

🗿 Nyberg Sculpture Park in Vining, MN
🐺 The Timberwolves are HOT right now
🌷 View 40,000 Tulips at the MN Arboretum
🐊 Wally the Emotional Support Alligator

Interesting News Stories Around MN:

Now, back to the main story.

All right, so Nyberg Sculpture Park in Vining, MN. What is this place and why is it here?

Nyberg Sculpture Park was started because of one man named Ken Nyberg, and the story was pretty entertaining to read through.

Ken Nyberg WAS an average guy. He worked construction and raised his family in Vining. Then, according to this "Roadside America" story, Ken said "I wanted to make something bigger and better, and I thought, 'A Big Foot. There couldn't be many of them around. I'd hate to make something that there's a lot of already.'"

The article continued that he worked on the giant foot for over two years and nobody knew about it, not even his wife. Ken said, "My wife didn't even know, I was a little afraid to say anything to anybody. Building a big foot – you gotta be crazy."

But when the time came to reveal the foot, well, apparently everybody loved it because the town of Vining gave him a spot to display his art right on the main drive through town, which is also where the rest of his art is displayed.

Since then, over the course of 35 years, Ken has been able to display many more structures which include:

Animal Sculptures:

Coffee Being Poured:

A Plyers with a Cockroach:

In addition to the roadside park which is free to stop at, you can also visit sculptures in nearby towns. Ken has his website displaying his sculptures along with interesting information about each one of them. Take his "Grizzly Bear" sculpture as an example:

His website lists the bear as:

Completed: 2007
Hours: 357.5
Weight: 3000lbs
Height: 10'8"
Location: Byron High School
Materials: 1207 blades

Or another fun and entertaining example labeled "Dog and Fire Hydrant":

Completed: 1984
Hours: 40
Weight: 50lbs
Height: 2'
Location: Front Street in Vining

Visit his website HERE for more fun information on many of his sculptures!

Ken retired from construction in 1999 and devotes much of his time to building structures. Kare 11 wrote a news story about him and his sculptures in 2021 where they stated he was just finishing up an eagle sculpture made with almost 600 lawnmower blades.

Over the years he has gained a lot of attention for his art. Kare 11 continued their video by saying that the convenience store located by the park has a guestbook which has logged people over the years coming from all over the world.

This also includes the BBC showing up and producing a music video about Ken which is shown below:

One of my favorite parts about reading through the Kare 11 article though was their conclusion at the end which said, "Yet despite the attention, Ken is still not the most famous person from Vining. Heck, he’s not even the most famous Nyberg in Vining. As a NASA astronaut, Ken’s daughter, Karen Nyberg, twice flew to the International Space Station."

Ken, described as a humble man, did decide to recognize the significant accomplishments of his daughter by creating a tribute to her which is displayed prominently in Nyberg Park.

It was fun to read about Ken and his sculptures. Ken said he has been given a pretty good leash to build about whatever he wants, and it shows, because many of the sculptures are some of the most random pieces of art we've ever seen! But they are fun, and they make for a great story to bring people to an area of the state which might not otherwise have much tourism.

If you would like to watch the video produced by Kare 11 click on the video below:

This was a VERY fun story to write! There are so few unique places like this with such fun stories behind them that aren't already well-known. If you get up north this summer you should try and swing through! I know this has been added to our list of places to visit.

Keep You In The Loop:

It's that time of the year again... Fishing Opener!

This is a big weekend for many Minnesotans as the roads up north start to get VERY busy.

It also marks a Minnesota tradition in place since 1948, which is the Minnesota Governor's Fishing Opener. According to MNGovernorsOpener.com, "[Governors Fishing Opener] was designed to improve Minnesota’s economy through the development and promotion of the state’s recreational opportunities, especially fishing. The first opener was a cooperative promotion between the state’s resort industry, media, and public officials. Today, the emphasis is even broader. It celebrates the kickoff of the summer tourism season. The special partnership continues today with a promotional focus on a host community as well as recreational opportunities statewide."

And it seems to have worked! Fishing Opener now marks an important weekend every year to get out on the lakes. Whether you're an avid fisherman or just looking for a weekend hobby, fishing opener is an important weekend for many Minnesotans.

The Star Tribune also wrote that fishing license sales are up 7% from where they were last year at this time, indicating a busy opening weekend.

And after checking the weather, it looks like it should be a beautiful weekend to get out! BUT, all the hardcore fisher-people will argue that beautiful, warm weather is not going to be helpful to get the fish biting

Regardless of your opinions on the weather, we hope that you get out this weekend to enjoy a couple of warm days whether you're in the boat or outside doing yard work. And make sure to check in next week for a recap of fishing opener!

What caught our attention this week:

📆 Mark Your Calendar: May 10th and 11th Winona will be hosting the Mid West Music Fest at various venues across Winona. Click HERE for more info!
🎥 A Video We Liked: It has nothing to do with Minnesota... but watch this super satisfying video of a painter doing their art PERFECTLY. Watch Here
🤔 A Strange Friendship: Read about Wally the Emotional Support Alligator