Le Sueur

Le Sueur (/ləˈsʊər/ lə-SOOR) is a city in Le Sueur County in the U.S. state of Minnesota, between Mankato and the Twin Cities. It lies along the Minnesota River and U.S. Highway 169. Le Sueur was named in honor of French explorer Pierre-Charles Le Sueur. Its population was 4,213 at the 2020 census.

The community is known locally as the "Valley of the Jolly Green Giant". A large billboard, with the caption "Welcome to the Valley" and Green Giant logo, remains even after the company and Green Giant label were bought by Pillsbury in 1979. Pillsbury merged with General Mills in 2001. In 2016, General Mills spun off Green Giant to B&G Foods and the canning is done in Montgomery, Minnesota. The old canning processing plant in Le Sueur was used until 1995. It is still used for agriculture-related research for corn varieties. Peas are no longer researched at the Le Sueur plant. The sugar snap pea variety was developed by a scientist at the Le Sueur plant.