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Sports
MPR News Staff

Leftover Twins 'Homer Hankies' to be used to make thousands of face masks

Minnesota Twins "Homer Hankies"
Leftover Minnesota Twins "Homer Hankies" from the 2019 season will be converted into cloth face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic, the team announced on Saturday. Each Homer Hanky can be used to make several masks.
Courtesy of Minnesota Twins

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Minnesota Twins "Homer Hankies" left over from the 2019 season now are being used to make thousands of face masks.

The Twins announced the effort on Saturday. Faribault Woolen Mill Co. and the apparel brand Love Your Melon are teaming up to produce the masks, which will be lined with polypropylene surgical wrap.

The masks then will be donated to health-care facilities for visitors, and for workers who don't deal directly with patients. They'll also be given to workers at Cub food stores, and to nonprofit groups.

Minnesota Twins "Homer Hankies"
Leftover Minnesota Twins "Homer Hankies" from the 2019 season will be converted into cloth face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Courtesy of Minnesota Twins

“When waved together by 50,000 people, the Homer Hanky is a symbol of the unity, respect and passion that define us as Minnesotans – the same traits that will see our state through the COVID-19 crisis,” Nancy O’Brien, Twins vice president of community engagement, said in a news release. “We are beyond grateful to partner with Faribault Woolen Mill Co. and Love Your Melon to transform otherwise unused stock of this iconic item into essential, protective material for those who are bravely and selflessly working to help us all during this pandemic.”

One Homer Hanky can be used to make several masks. The initial production run is 10,000 masks, with an ultimate goal of making 50,000 masks.

Love Your Melon is providing the polypropylene surgical wrap and elastic, while workers at Faribault Woolen Mill will do the sewing.

Statewide homemade mask drive

Meanwhile, Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan have launched a weeklong statewide homemade mask drive in Minnesota. They're calling on Minnesota residents to make and donate homemade masks.

There will be a collection drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at local fire departments. The departments will then deliver the masks to residents and staff at nursing homes and other congregate-care facilities.

“Those working in congregate living facilities are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Walz said in a news release. “While homemade masks will not replace personal protective equipment, they go a long way in preventing the wearer’s germs from infecting others. I am asking Minnesota’s crafters, sewers, and creatives to step up and help out their community.”

Find more information, including guidelines for making masks, here.