Gov. Tim Walz presents Gru, Minnesota’s Thanksgiving turkey

A 45-pound turkey named Gru took center stage at the Capitol on Tuesday when Gov. Tim Walz marked Minnesota’s annual Thanksgiving presentation.

This year’s turkey tom, named after the “Despicable Me” character, topped last year’s 42-pound bird by 3 pounds. Gru strutted around a table in the governor’s reception room, fanning its feathers for roughly 20 minutes while Walz took questions. At one point, Gru slipped off the table and landed on the floor — where he picked his strutting back up.

Minnesota traditionally does not “pardon” the turkeys presented by the governor. Shelby Barber, a Minnesota 4-H student who raised Gru, said the tom will be the “main guest” at her family’s Thanksgiving table.

Minnesota leads the nation in turkeys raised. In 2024, the state produced 34 million turkeys across 600 farms, accounting for 16% of all turkeys produced in the U.S, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Minnesota’s turkey production accounts for 14% of the state’s total agricultural production and generates roughly $1 billion a year.

“We produce about 16% of all the turkeys produced across the country, so pretty good chance most folks are going to have that turkey via Minnesota turkey, and we’re incredibly proud of that,” Walz said.

A couple hundred were donated to Minnesotans this Thanksgiving in response to disruptions in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program throughout the federal government shutdown.

Second Harvest Heartland distributed 450 donated turkeys, both from the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, which donated 250 turkeys totaling $10,000, and the Thielin Foundation, which donated 200 turkeys.

The disruption in SNAP benefits came after Minnesota logged a record number of 9 million visits to food shelves in 2024 alone — topping early pandemic years.

Second Harvest Heartland CEO Sarah Moberg thanked the turkey growers for the donation, as she said, “This has been a very challenging year.”

“So while SNAP benefits have been restored following the federal shutdown, the work is far from over,” Moberg said. “Legislation passed this summer will significantly reduce benefits for many Minnesota families at a time when economic challenges are already making it harder to afford food, but the resiliency and the generosity of this state provide hope.”