One of Joe Biden's last acts as president involves a pair of Minnesota turkeys.
On Monday at the White House, the president will step up to the podium and pardon the two 40-pound birds from the Thanksgiving dinner table.
Peach and Blossom, a pair of turkeys hatched and raised in Northfield, have been staying at the Willard InterContinental hotel in Washington since Saturday.
Their names were revealed on Sunday ahead of a Thanksgiving ceremony that dates back to the Truman administration.
The official "pardoning" has happened every year since 1989, because in those early days, the White House turkey went from live presentation to the White House kitchen.
That all changed in 1963, when President Kennedy issued the first turkey pardon. The ceremony continued without an official pardon until George H. W. Bush started the annual tradition halfway through his term.
Peach and Blossom were hatched July 18th and raised on a farm by John Zimmerman, chairman of the National Turkey Federation.
Both now weigh more than 40 pounds. The pair will live a good life when they return to Minnesota, retiring to Farmamerica Interpretive Center in Waseca.
Minnesota usually ranks toward the top in turkeys raised in the U.S. In 2023, Minnesota turkey numbers reached 39 million birds, up 5.4 percent from 37 million in 2022. That was more than any other state last year.