NORTH ST PAUL, Minn. — A requirement for most snow sculptures is snow — not in North St. Paul.
Just off Highway 36 stands a 44-foot-tall 20-ton smiling snowman that is billed as the world's largest snowman, according to the city's website. Its smile alone stretches 16 feet.
The latest installment of KARE in the Air provides an aerial view of the iconic sculpture.
The snowman's history dates back to 1969 after Lloyd Koesling took his family to Disneyland, where he saw workers building a giant statue. Koesling pitched an idea of building a "village symbol" to the North St. Paul City Council, and later decided on a giant snowman because of the North St. Paul Jaycees, who would build snowmen at the annual snow Frolics Festival, according to city officials.
The two-year construction project began in 1972 on North St. Paul's Main Street, where it stood for nearly 20 years. The snowman was then moved in 1990 to its current location.