![Minnesota Man’s Cave Collection Is His Hobby, Passion](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2010/12/minnesota_policies.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Minnesota Man’s Cave Collection Is His Hobby, Passion
SPRING VALLEY(AP) - A Minnesota man is a big-time owner of underground real estate.
Fifty-nine-year-old John Ackerman owns Spring Valley Caverns, the largest private cave in Minnesota.
That's just the beginning of Ackerman's subterranean empire. He holds the keys to more than 40 miles of caves hidden beneath the farm fields of Minnesota and Iowa.
Ackerman says he got the itch to explore caves as a boy when he poked around the caves along the Mississippi River in St. Paul. Spring Valley Caverns was his first acquisition, in 1989, when he bought 600 acres of farmland.
Ackerman estimates he's spent $4 million on cave exploration and acquiring underground rights. But he doesn't charge admission to the nature groups, scientists and cavers who visit.
More From AM 1240 WJON
![St. Ben’s, St. John’s Official Higher Ed Partners with MN United](http://townsquare.media/site/70/files/2019/11/soccer_ball_getty_Michael-Regan_Getty24.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Gas Prices Fall in Minnesota, Rise Nationally](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2023/04/attachment-GettyImages-97962772.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![St. Cloud’s Coborn’s, CentraCare Make List of Biggest Minnesota Employers](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-Jobs3-Thinkstock-GettyImages.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Central MN Meat Market Introduces 24/7 Meat Vending Machine](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-Jen-and-Travis.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Becker Woman Hurt in Crash Near Spicer](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2023/06/State-Patrol-Stock-2.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Get Ready For Change: Minnesota Introduces Area Code 924 Overlay](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-NewAreaCode.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![MSP Ranked Top U.S. Airport in 2024](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-MAC_MSP-Airport_Terminal-1_Delta_6x4_200.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Riding High: Amtrak Borealis Trains Impress In First Month](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-AmtrakBorealis-AmtrakHandoutPhoto.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![90s Possible in Minnesota this Weekend](http://townsquare.media/site/669/files/2021/07/attachment-RS45164_GettyImages-1150050227-scr.jpg?w=980&q=75)