Joe Mauer statues to be installed in downtown Minneapolis

The Minnesota Twins will soon scatter more than a dozen statues of catcher Joe Mauer throughout downtown Minneapolis as part of a charity fundraiser.

Team spokesman Kevin Smith says the project is similar to the "Peanuts on Parade" figures that were on display in St. Paul over several recent years, to honor cartoonist and St. Paul native Charles Schulz.

The Mauer statues will stay outside all baseball season, then the sponsors can move them inside or donate them. Each statue costs about $13,000.

The statues are nearly 6 feet tall and weigh nearly 1,000 pounds. Each commemorates a single Twins season and will be covered with painted images, photographs and headlines from that year.

Smith says there could be up to 50 statues placed around town, but they will only be made as sponsors come forward. As of now, 14 have been ordered.

The first statue will be unveiled Friday morning outside the Target store on Nicollet Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.

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