Medallion Rapscallion Blog (SEE RULES BELOW). Please call Ed at 507-766-4560 immediately if you find it!

February 4, 5:05 p.m. — Medallion found. Congratulations to Trae Swehla of Saint Peter. It was by the sidewalk by red-lit tree near the kiosk in Minnesota Square Park.

February 4, 4:41 p.m. — Speculation swirls.

We’ve been asked, “Has the medallion been found and not reported by the finder?”

We don’t think that’s the case, and we really hope it’s not the case. 

At 4:14 p.m. today, there were five searchers going over new ground and already searched areas.

For all 19 years, the medallion finders have called us immediately, with the exception of one year when a guy found it around midnight, was confused, and reported it early the next day.

Could a snow machine have somehow moved it? Unlikely but not impossible, I guess. 

Could a searcher’s shovel have harbored it for an unseen instant and cast it aside only to be buried by other snow scoops. We’re pretty sure that happened in 2017 at Jefferson Park, because the medallion was hacked in half and the second half finally appeared in melting snow in March. It would be difficult to miss this year, though. It’s heavier, more durable.

We’re looking forward to tonight’s clue! Very intriguing. Thanks for searching, hunters! Thanks for hunting, searchers. 

February 3, 4:49 p.m. — The good news is, winter is over. Right? Because the temperature is rising big time, and there is no nasty below-zero temps on the horizon.

Hunting weather is good. Yes, more snow will fall, and sure, living in Minnesota equals living in a refrigerator for, oh, four months at least, but temperatures are definitely on the rise.

George Carlin was the one who said it’s weird that we drive on parkways and park on driveways. Bouncing the clues around, old George might have said it’s weird that St. Paul has a St. Peter St. and St. Peter has a St. Paul St.

Well, anyway, it has been fun watching the searchers dig into the meanings of the clues and dig into the snows of the fourth snowiest season on record, or something like that.

Will the medallion be found tonight? Oh my. Who knows? Are peeps close to it? It sure seems, again, like many are searching in the right park. Well, that’s according to clue interpretations.

Enjoy the balmy weather, friends! Groundhogs are pretty much misleading; spring is practically here, because temperatures are getting way more comfortable.  

February 2, 4:59 p.m. — We’re at the point where we can say definitely there is a park that has the highest number of searchers. 

Are they right about the park? Only time will tell.

But, they really appear to feel confident that they are in the correct place. As you look at the clues, and read some easy history and information that is very googlable, you might be led there too.

It’s like if there are three fishing boats in one place, an angler would surmise that fish are being caught or at least scoped there. That’s what is going on with this park.

It’s cold, but you are bold, so go get that medallion! 

February 2, 9:07 a.m. — The medallion has never been and will never be hidden in or directly next to any veterans memorial, church, cemetery or school. Thanks for respecting sacred places, searchers!

February 1, 3:15 p.m. — Ah wow wow wow, the theories are bouncing around now. 

And ones we have heard seem quite believable.

Just reading about Saint Peter’s historic figures and street names really provokes thoughts as to where the medallion is hiding. 

Congratulations, searchers, because it certainly appears you are on making progress.

Again, I don’t know where it is. I only know tendencies of the Rapscallion. And I definitely love hearing the theories from searchers.

Happy hunting, hunters! 

January 31, 4:59 p.m. — This frigid condition can’t last forever. In fact, it seems to be breaking toward the endish of the week.

We’ve seen plenty of footprints in the snow, and a plethora of searchers, so we know the snow and cold isn’t putting a huge damper on the hunt.

Peeps are dressing for the weather. Layering up. Like Eskimos and Minnesotans. 

Winterfest needs Vulcans like the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. In fact, why not get a bonfire going in every park so the searchers can warm up? We’ll see if we can get City permission maybe.

The clues are getting more specific. May they cater to your Sherlock brains. Thanks for playing, everyone!

January 30, 5:06 p.m. — “Govern your search”. Let’s all recall our fair town is the home of five governors.

Does it mean anything, though? Gorman, Swift, Austin, McGill and Johnson.

There are parks or streets with those names. 

Knowing the Rapscallion, this could very well be a red herring.

There’s just a feeling, a very strong feeling, that something means something in Clue #4.

Don’t let the cold freeze out your searching. Bundle up and bring home the idol.  

January 30, 5:58 p.m. — Was Rat Race a movie? Seems worth exploring, but not sure what the connection would be.

We’re trying to narrow things down to which park (well, it has always been hidden in a park, so it seems like a safe assumption).

It will never be hidden directly by a school, because it would be too distracting, so when you see “education,” do not go there.

It’s safe to assume it’s on park land.

I still say the day day day thing needs to mean something.

Go get it, searchers! Bring this madness to its natural 2023 conclusion and cash in!

January 29, 5:16 p.m. — Um. Why does the word day appear in each of the first three clues?

January 29, 4:55 p.m. — What do you make of it? Words like way, rat, and race.

Are they just rhymes because the Rapscallion is lyrical, or are they already meaning something significant as early as Clue 2?

Well, if the past tells us anything, it’s that the Rapscallion gives searchers something substantive in every clue. If you don’t believe it, just wait until the clue meanings come out after the hunt. Some will say, “Wow, how did I miss that?” Others will say, “Oh my, I don’t think I ever would have seen that.”

All that aside, things get more exciting with each passing clue, because this game is all about getting more specific as time whittles along. 

Can you believe it has been several years since the medallion has been found before Day 6? Last year, when it was found in Levee Park on Day 8 (actually night 8 at 6:33 p.m.), searchers had been nearly on top of it for at least two days.

Metal shovels, friends. Carry them, bond with them, sleep with them, trust them, embrace them. Eventual finders seem almost always, at least in recent years, to have wielded metal shovels.

Good luck out there, hunters. We love your Eskimo attire and coal miner headlights!

19th Annual Winterfest Medallion Hunt Rules

Find the Medallion somewhere in St Peter, and you will win $1,000 in St. Peter Chamber Bucks!

There are a few simple rules to remember when searching for the St. Peter Winter Medallion:

  • The Medallion is located within the St. Peter city limits and on public property.
  • Do NOT dig in the soil.
  • Please respect other people’s property and DO NOT search for the Medallion on private property (never search Treaty Site History Center, adjacent properties, or cemeteries).
  • Please DO NOT climb over any fences when looking for the Medallion.  The Medallion is NOT located in a restricted area.

Clues will be posted at 5:01 p.m. each day, until the Medallion is found, on the following websites:

If you find the Medallion, you can turn it in at the St. Peter Area Chamber of Commerce office located at 101 S. Front Street in St. Peter.  If you find the Medallion outside of the normal Chamber of Commerce business hours, please call Ed at 507-766-4560 so, as a courtesy to all Medallion hunters, we can report via the Chamber Facebook Page that it has been found. An e-mail also will go immediately to the St. Peter Herald and Mankato Free Press.

Special Thank You to the St. Peter Area Tourism & Visitors Bureau for donating the St. Peter Chamber Bucks for the Medallion Hunt once again this year!

Blog Entries Below

January 28, 4:35 p.m. — A searcher might surmise the Rapscallion would hide the idol in a different park every year. But that searcher would be off base.

Let’s talk about the parks where it hasn’t been hidden in the past 18 years of hunting: Riverside, Johnson, Community Spirit and Prairie Ridge. Maybe more?

Just know the Rapscallion is sensitive to public and private property concerns. Is it just coincidence the medallion has been found every year in areas of ample parking  and relatively safe settings? Like, it has never been too close to a resident’s yard, cemetery, school building, water, or historical land.

The medallion has been hidden multiple times in parks named Jefferson, McGill, Warren, Mill Pond and Gault.

Thank you for braving the chilly temperatures these days, searchers! The Chamber loves it when, after your searches, you thaw out in the restaurants and bars. It’s a great atmosphere for reading and deciphering clues. 

January 27, 2:45 p.m. — Does it feel like groundhog day?

If so, it’s because we’re returning as we have 18 times before to the exciting annual medallion hunt! Welcome back, searchers, and thanks for playing.

The big news is the heavy snow of winter 2022-23, under which the three-dimensional clear plastic rectangle that says “medallion” on it is hidden. Many would say it’s easier to find in non-snowy seasons. The Medallion Rapscallion, who hides it, loves snow, and the deeper the better.

It could be the medallion was hidden before the snowfall of January 19 and then, of course subsequent snowfalls. We don’t know, because we are not the Medallion Rapscallion. But speculating, as we do with medallion hunt trendencies (misspelling on purpose, trying to be clever) from the past, there’s a very good chance it has been hidden out there for more than two weeks.

Good luck, hunters! Keep contacting us with your thoughts and theories. We won’t give away your best fishing spots or anything like that.