ALEXANDRIA, MINN. – There will be no controversy over this presidential pardon.
A Minnesota-bred gobbler will be officially named the national Thanksgiving turkey next week and receive a pardon from President Donald Trump at a White House ceremony on Tuesday.
But it's not quite as simple as it sounds.
Minnesota, the nation's No. 1 turkey producer, actually is sending two birds to Washington. They'll travel by truck in carriers emblazoned with the "Seal of the National Turkey of the United States."
Only one will get the pardon, however, with the other standing by in case of an accident or barnyard scandal. Which bird gets picked will be decided by the White House. If it were up to the birds' foster parents here in Douglas County, they'd pick Bow, a 36-pound showoff who loves to strut, preen and dance to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill songs.
"He's got more personality," said Kodi Bundermann, one of five local 4-H members who helped raise the two 20-week-old toms from birth. Tie, Bow's brother, "is more of a follower," she added. But at 47 pounds, he's the bigger bird.
The birds were raised in a special "presidential suite" on the farm of Carl and Sharlene Wittenburg in rural Alexandria. Carl Wittenburg, a second-generation turkey farmer, is this year's chairman of the National Turkey Federation, and the honor of providing the national bird always goes to the chairman's home state.
The presidential flock started with 80 poults, or young turkeys, and was whittled down to 30, then to seven before the Wittenburgs and the 4-Hers chose two birds for the White House. A third flockmate also was honored, going to St. Paul on Friday for a Thanksgiving ceremony with Gov. Mark Dayton.