That space is reserved for something special. In the coming weeks, a 2,000 pound pig will be placed there. No, not an actual live pig — a sculpture of Floyd of Rosedale.

Floyd of Rosedale is a bronze trophy in the shape of a pig that is presented to the winner of the Iowa Hawkeyes/Minnesota Golden Gophers Division I football game every year they play. The tradition began in 1935 as as a wager for a live hog, offered to Iowa Gov. Clyde Herring by Minnesota Gov. Floyd Olson.

Ozzie Simmons, the Hawkeyes’ running back at the time, had been knocked out three times during a previous game against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

He was one of the few black players at the time.

-Submitted graphic
This rendering shows what the Floyd of Rosedale statue by artist Dale Merrill will look like when installed in Fort Dodge.

Iowa lost the 1935 game, so Herring obtained a hog from Allen Loomis, the owner of dairy-producing Rosedale Farms outside of Fort Dodge. Herring named it Floyd and had it delivered to the Minnesota governor’s office.

“There’s a racial element to it — and there were tensions between both universities, but they settled it with a wager,” Fort Dodge City Councilman Dave Flattery said. “And Floyd of Rosedale, the pig, was the wager.”

Wanting to keep that story and Fort Dodge’s part in it alive, Flattery set out to have the sculpture of Floyd made. The process began in 2019. And through mutliple generous donations, the project has become reality. It is being paid for from donations, not from tax dollars or public funds.

In February, Flattery and Randy Kuhlman, CEO of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way, got to see the sculpture that will soon be in Fort Dodge.

“We saw Floyd was about three quarters of the way completed,” Flattery said. “With the pedestal he’ll stand about 14 feet tall and weigh 2,000 pounds.”

Dale Merrill, of Mount Vernon, is the artist. In his proposal to the city’s Public Art Commission, Merrill said he wanted to convey a collection of Iowa memories and traditions “into a timeless art form that portrays that of our heritage.”

Merrill’s previous work, with a specialty in abstract art installations, includes Enduring Prairie at the Coralville Public Library, Yielding at a roundabout in Marion and the West Side Rising Memorial in Cedar Rapids.

Floyd’s patina-like construction will display layers of the metal, giving depth and dimension to the trophy replication that will require little maintenance and, over time, transform into rustic colors of varying degrees. With input from the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota, Merrill incorporated inspiration in the metal design from the rolling hills and agricultural topography of Iowa.

The Cor-ten weathering steel used in construction will develop a protective oxide layer that prevents further corrosion as it ages through wet and dry cycles.

“We were kind of awestruck when we saw it,” Flattery said. “We walked into his (Merrill’s) showroom and saw it being worked on. It’s impressive.”

Flattery said Kallin-Johnson Monument Co. will hang the lettering on the wall behind Floyd. A donor wall will be made of marble, Flattery said.

“We are still trying to raise money for the signage and amenities to help tell the story,” Flattery said.

Flattery said Floyd will be on display by the time RAGBRAI rolls through Fort Dodge in July.

“The route when it exits town will be going right by Floyd,” Flattery said. “There will be twenty-some thousand bicyclists going by.”

Flattery anticipates full installation sometime in May. It will be mounted by a crane just northeast of the roundabout at 10th Avenue North and North 32nd Street.

“That will be kind of a spectacle,” Flattery said. “It will be a fun attraction for the community. It will be fantastic.”

He added, “The plaza is completed. We are just waiting for Floyd to get there.”