Minnesota Teacher Wins Huge Cash Prize For Record Setting Pumpkin

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Did you know that Anoka, Minnesota is the Halloween capital of the world? They take the haunted holiday very seriously and celebrate with a giant parade and loads of other Halloween festivities. So, it's really no wonder that the world's biggest Halloween pumpkin comes from Anoka.

Travis Gienger, a 43-year-old horticulture and landscape teacher at Anoka Technical College, just set the world record for heaviest pumpkin.

Confident that his pumpkin was ready for show, Travis loaded it up on a truck and drove to the west coast. The Super Bowl for pumpkin growers is the great "Pumpkin Weigh-Off" event, which has been held for the last 50-years, in Half Moon Bay, California.

Gienger's pumpkin was the star of the show. It shattered all records, tipping the scales at an astonishing 2,749 pounds. Enough to make 687 pies.

According to USA Today, Travis dedicated more time to his pumpkin this year. Giving the seeds a lot of love and attention - "adding extra fertilizer and watering them sometimes a dozen times a day.

The teacher from Anoka was rewarded with a nice cash price for his efforts.  Contest officials paid Travis $9 a pound for the pumpkin ($24,741) and he earned a bonus $30,000 for setting the new world record.

RELATED:  THOUSANDS of jack-o-lanterns are on display at the Minnesota Zoo through November 4th. The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular features classic, goofy, and spooky-faced professionally carved jack-o-lanterns. Learn more here.