Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

After years of farming, Bert Bouwman and his family wanted to join the Midwestern rural tradition of having a corn maze of their own.

You know the drill: Turn left at the stalks, right at the cobs and left at the, well, stalks. And then start all over again because you’re lost.

But a simple maze wasn’t enough for Bouwman, who had experience designing mazes for others. In 2010, he came up with the idea of doing a Twins-themed maze, sketched out his design on a piece of grid paper and got his team to planting and cutting on 15.1 acres of land he set aside for the project.

After more than 25,000 people came out, Bouwman decided he had a good thing going with the Twins theme. This year, he chose to pay tribute to the 20th anniversary of the 1991 Twins winning the World Series. One summer addition to the design is a giant silhouette of Harmon Killebrew, the Twins Hall of Famer who passed away in May.

“We thought about what a big deal that year was for Twins fans in this area and decided to try and incorporate something that celebrated that championship.” he said.

Bouwman, a native of Brazil, came to the United States in the late 1990s. In 2000, he began farming in the area. His father was a farmer, and at a young age he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

“I loved working with my dad on the farm,” Bouwman said. “There was always something special about being outside all day and being able to see what you accomplished in the fields.”

That feeling of accomplishment grows when he sees thousands of people enjoying his Twin Cities Maze.

“We are a family of seven, so we wanted to come up with an idea that was cost-friendly for big families,” he said. “When you see all the smiling faces here in the fall and hear the laughter of the children it makes you feel quite proud of the work you do.”

(Story Continues…)

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