SportsHOT TAKE OR NOT

Minnesota grower wins Half Moon Bay pumpkin weigh-off with…

Gienger's 2,389-pound pumpkin earned $21,501 at the Half Moon Bay weigh-off, after a 2,150-mile haul from Minnesota; the gourd reportedly rode without complaint.

On air: Hank Ledger, Dale Bearman and Chip Darnell on BBN Tonight
Published 8:01 PM ET, Monday, October 12, 2026

Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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The Short: the best minute of this segment, cut vertical for your thumb. More about this Short

Photo: Pumpkin — Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

First reported by New York Post: “Halloween goes to the extreme as Super Bowl of pumpkin growers hits California beach town – see the giant that won”.
Covered on BBN on Monday, October 12, 2026, at 8:01 PM ET on BBN Tonight, by Hank Ledger, Dale Bearman and Chip Darnell.
Topics: Super Bowl, Halloween, Minnesota, California.
BBN covered this story before: Minnesota Senate poll gives Flanagan a four-point lead over Tafoya (October 12).

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

New York PostHalloween goes to the extreme as Super Bowl of pumpkin growers hits California beach town – see the giant that won

What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorTonight's story: Minnesota grower Travis Gienger won Half Moon Bay's pumpkin weigh-off with a 2,389-pound giant, and the New York Post says he drove it 2,150 miles for twenty-one thousand five hundred and one dollars.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorDale, your take, and I'm holding the thermometer.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorThat pumpkin got a better road trip than I've had since the Nineties.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorIt sat in the back, never asked for a rest stop, and still beat everyone. Gas alone ate half that prize.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorHalf is a guess. NOT.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorHere's mine, Hank. He didn't win the money, the pumpkin did, and the man is just its driver.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorTwo thousand pounds of champion deserves a salary and a good pillow.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA pillow. HOT, and I resent it.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorAnd what's your take, Hank?
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe pumpkin was the calmest one in that truck for twenty-one hundred miles. Give it the anchor chair. Extremely hot.

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