Northfield turkey will be pardoned at annual White House ceremony

John Zimmerman of Northfield is getting the National Thanksgiving Turkey ready for the presidential pardoning ceremony at the White House. The chairman of the National Turkey Federation says raising these birds has been an honor. He says they started with a very small flock of about 40 birds in July and have whittled in down to about 20. Zimmerman says they will take two birds to Washington, D-C – the one to be pardoned and an alternate. He says the pardoned turkeys will spend the rest of their lives at the Minnesota Agricultural Interpretive Center in Waseca.