The Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt is coming up — and, to coincide with the 140th anniversary of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, the top prize for this year’s medallion finder is the largest ever offered.

The 2026 Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt patch. (Pioneer Press staff)

A total package of $15,000 is up for grabs: The finder wins $5,000 for uncovering the hidden treasure and an additional $5,000 if they have a registered Treasure Hunt patch. In partnership with the Winter Carnival, the finder will receive the final $5,000 if they also have a Winter Carnival button in addition to the hunt patch.

(Note a rule change: For this year, finders will not be required to provide print-outs or clippings of each clue to receive the initial $5,000 finders’ prize.)

The first daily clue is released Sunday, Jan. 18, and the hunt lasts 12 days or until the medallion is found. Clues will be published daily on TwinCities.com and in the Pioneer Press; clues also will be released early in person at Shamrocks (995 W. Seventh St.) at approximately 11:30 p.m. or slightly beforehand each night of the hunt.

Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt patches are on sale now for $10 at treasure-hunt-shop.square.site.

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This year’s Winter Carnival buttons are designed by Forest Lake artist Randall Peterson. Done in the style of pointillism, each button design consists of thousands of dots applied individually over dozens of hours. Buttons — $5 for one or $19 for a pack of all four designs — are available online at wintercarnival.com/p/marketplace/buttons or at a variety of retail locations.

The newspaper’s annual treasure hunt began in 1952, and Arthur Jensen unearthed what was then a small wooden toy chest, hidden in Highland Park.

His prize that year was $1,100, (worth about $13,500 today) some of which went toward buying his wife a new straw pillbox hat. That shopping outing was attended by a Pioneer Press reporter, who noted that the saleswoman told Mrs. Jensen that she looked good in a variety of nice hats and therefore had what was known in the industry as a “hat face.”

“Thank you, that’s the first time anyone ever said that to me,” Mrs. Jensen replied.

After a few years of hiding toy chests, Treasure Hunt organizers commissioned a bronze medallion and several backups that were used for hunts from 1958 to 1987. After several decades missing, most of these bronze medallions have resurfaced in recent years. Since the 1980s and still today, the medallion is a plastic object whose design changes each year and remains a closely guarded secret.

The full 2026 Treasure Hunt rules are also available now.