New Ulm Tourism Chief Admits Faking Story

NEW ULM, Minn. (AP) - Tourism officials in New Ulm now admit they faked their story of finding a mysterious concrete cast footprint that they're promoting as the footprint of Herman the German, the statute of a Germanic warrior that stands guard over New Ulm.

Terry Sveine, manager of the New Ulm Convention and Visitors Bureau, had said that officials found a 4-foot-long, 425 pound cast of a footprint crated up in the office basement, along with a mysterious note.

But now Sveine admits he lied and is apologizing. He says the bureau commissioned a local artist to make it as part of a "Germans have more fun" marketing campaign, which began last year.

The "cast" hangs outside the bureau's office in downtown New Ulm.