UPDATE: Richmond Man Sets State Record With Giant Pumpkin [AUDIO]

STILLWATER -- A Richmond man has won the contest of biggest pumpkin at Stillwater's Harvest Fest today.

Scott Steil set a new Minnesota state record and the $5,000 first-place prize at the festival with his pumpkin weighing in at 1,873 pounds.

"I couldn't be happier - we got a new state record for giant pumpkins," Steil says.

In a contest in which the average weight of pumpkins was over 1,650 pounds, Steil's pumpkin blew the competition away - beating the runner-up by 41 pounds.

Steil says it feels good to have all the hard work from the season pay off.

"A lot of ups and downs but in the end, this is why you do it and I couldn't be happier," Steil says.

This is a triumphant ending to a story that WJON's Alex Svejkovski reported on Thursday.