ST.PAUL, Minn. – Governor Tim Walz accepted a gift Thanksgiving turkey – an annual tradition — from the state turkey growers association. Walz was emphatic that he had no intention to pardon the tom, unlike at the annual White House turkey presentation. “In D.C. they make a pardon, but this turkey is not pardoned from its fate,” Walz said. “In Minnesota we know turkey is delicious.” Walz used the presentation ceremony to underscore Minnesota as the largest turkey producer in the nation. He recited numbers: Six-hundred farms, 40 million birds, 450 dedicated growers. The industry employs 46,000 people, he said.
Turkey at Capitol. En route, says Walz, to someone’s Thanksgiving table.