South Dakota Turkeys Ready for Their White House Visit

This will be a Thanksgiving South Dakotan's can be proud of: our birds are headed for the White House!

However, this is more about the turkey. Think big beauty pageant and now you are going on a national tour to strut your stuff. That's exactly how this will play out.

A grand Presidential Turkey Tour of Huron is planned for Wednesday, November 14. Representatives from the National Turkey Federation will be on hand.

This year marks the first time in the 71-year history of the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation that South Dakota has had this honor. The presidential turkeys are being raised under the supervision of Sveen and turkey farmer Ruben Waldner near Huron.

Before the two turkeys head to the nation’s capital they will travel around Huron on a specially prepared trailer to five area elementary schools and introduced to the students. The elementary students will be asked to submit possible names for the birds, which will then be sent to the White House for consideration.

After the tour of Huron, the turkeys will rest up before their trip to Washington, DC, where they will stay in a luxury room at the Willard InterContinental Hotel to await their historic meeting with the President of the United States.