This giant pumpkin was named after this NBA legend!

October 11, 2023 Rex Howard

A Minnesota man’s special pumpkin will have you saying, “Oh my gourd.”
Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota, set a world record for the heaviest pumpkin on Monday.
The 2,749-pound jack-o’-lantern gourd took first place in the 50th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California, which is south of San Francisco, The previous record was 2,702 pounds, set in 2021.
Travis, a 43-year-old horticulture teacher, told KSTP that he named the pumpkin “Michael Jordan” because “it’s the year [20]23… and he’s the greatest basketball player of all time.”
He added, “It started out basketball round, and I said this is going to be a perfectly round basketball-shaped pumpkin.”
The pumpkin champ won a $30,000 prize for growing the biggest pumpkin and setting a new world record. This enormous, lumpy, orange pumpkin can produce at least 687 pies!

Listen below to Charlie Brown The Great Pumpkin I Got A Rock Scene

I grew up on a farm south of Rawson with my Mom, Dad and two brothers. I graduated from Cory-Rawson High School and went on to get an Associate’s Degree from Ohio University and a Bachelor’s Degree from Bowling Green State University.

I grew up on classic country music like Merle Haggard, Chet Atkins, Kenny Rogers and Dottie West . My dad played in a country and western band around this area so I have always been surrounded by country.

During college, I worked at 106.3 in Ottawa and WHIZ in Zanesville. After graduation, I began working full time at WCIT-AM and WLSR -FM in Lima, Ohio. I had the opportunity to work with Easter Streaker, a Lima radio and TV legend.

My career path then took me out of radio for a while and I worked for Enterprise Rent-a-Car as a Branch Manager in Findlay, Lima, Bowing Green and Defiance.

Then, the radio bug came back and bit me again and I started working part time at WKXA. Then, I came on full time and began working on WKXA and 106.3 The Fox. For the past 13 years, I have worked on WKXA during afternoon drive and middays. Most recently, I have been handling the afternoon drive time slot on 106.3 The Fox, assisting The Big Kahuna with programming 106.3 The Fox and assisting with production duties.

I have been married to my wife Kellie for 26 years. We have a 20 year old son who is a sophomore at the University of Toledo and a 6th month of Kitty named Jillie. We live in Findlay and are in the process of remodeling a house for us to move into as soon as it’s done.

I enjoy watching football (Go Bucks!), baseball and golf. I like to read and am currently reading “The Way I Heard it” by Mike Rowe. In the evenings, you can usually find me hanging out at home with my family and listening to music or watching sports.