The wooden Viking statue was blown down by the recent storm that hit the Minneota.

VIKING STATUE TOPPLED

Recent storm fells 6-year-old Kompelien Field landmark

For six years, he has stood tall and proud on the east end of K.P. Kompelien Field, witnessing victory after victory by the football team.
On Tuesday, Aug. 2, the 12-foot Viking statue came tumbling down from the vicious winds that have become commonplace this summer in Minneota. The iconic statue broke off its large tree stump base and was left lying in the grass beside the base.
Both horns from the Viking man's helmet broke off. One of the horns was driven into the ground by the weight of the statue. The statue's axe and shield were left in pieces. Several other pieces from the statue were strewn around the area.
A cottonwood tree well over 100 years old that previously stood in that spot once acted as a backstop by keeping footballs kicked over the goalpost from ending up in the Yellow Medicine River behind it. That tree eventually succumbed to the elements and was taken down six years ago. Only the stump from that tree remained and was used as the base for the new statue.
Jeff Buysse came up with the idea for the statue to replace the old cottonwood tree. He spoke with Tony Esping, who was a member of the Minneota Football Boosters, who then started the fundraising project in 2015-16 to have the statue built and placed atop the base. "It was Jeff's idea to have the statue put up," said Esping. "It's kind of sad that it came down. I hope we can get it fixed and put back up."
Jordan Dahl, a native of Dawson, and the husband of Minneota native Ashley (Hennen) Dahl, is a chainsaw artist who was hired to make the new statue in 2016. He used another cottonwood tree from the area to make the Viking replica.
After $3,000 was raised by the Minneota Football Boosters, the State Bank of Taunton matched that amount in order to see the project completed.
When Dahl completed the statue, he was assisted by Bruce Laleman, Tim DeVlaeminck and Buysse in getting it secured on the base.
Many people around the area have been talking about the fallen statue and what it meant to them and their children. During the two years Minneota held graduation ceremonies outdoors due to the pandemic, many of the graduates and their families had photos taken by the statue as a keepsake.
"It was sad to see it on the ground," said Buysse. "The first step is getting the statue removed. If we can get it fixed, we may have to have a metal helmet put on it to help with the water runoff."
Photos of the fallen statue were emailed to Dahl. Although he had not seen the magnitude of the damage to the statue in person, he felt somewhat confident it could be repaired.
"I heard about (the statue) being blown down," said Dahl. "It looks like the stump rotted out, which can be replaced. I can fix the statue itself, too. I will be searching for a large enough cottonwood tree around the area to replace the existing stump."
Dahl noted that he remembers carving the Viking statue and that he worked on it "off and on for about two weeks."
The Dahls now live in Deadwood, SD. Jordan and his brother, Jarrett, have four chainsaw art businesses in and around that area.
This was the third severe storm of the summer in the Minneota area that included damaging winds. Several more trees were reportedly from last Tuesday's storm. The other storms felled large trees or branches, tore apart metal sheds, and damaged residential and business roofs.
It was reported to the Mascot that the Viking statue was leaning prior to the recent storm, apparently from the stump starting to rot away.

The 12-foot Vikings statue that was placed in 2016 sustained broke off its base from the strong winds last Tuesday. Mascot photo by Scott Thoma

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