Minnesota's oldest resident celebrates her 113th birthday By Staff Report Text size Copy shortlink: Erna Zahn, Minnesota's oldest resident and among the 10 oldest people in the U.S., celebrated her 113th birthday Wednesday with a gathering at the Sleepy Eye Coffee Co. in the small Minnesota city about two hours southwest of Minneapolis. Zahn, who lives at the Oak Hills Living Center in New Ulm, Minn., was greeted by a display of photos from the early part of her life, above right, and friends and family members who hadn't been together for more than a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.