SHEBOYGAN, Wis.— A pigeon from Wisconsin became a social media superstar over the weekend. 

While surprising for many reasons, the most jarring of which is perhaps that the pigeon was dead. 

However, it's where the pigeon was found—hundreds of miles away from home— that gave this pigeon's story new life.

In the midst of the Supreme Court debate this weekend, Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley, a senator at the center of it, went viral for tweeting about finding a tagged pigeon, dead in his yard. 

U.S. Army Retired Sgt. Major Kim Kasabuske, with the Sheboygan flying club, can identify where the bird is from through the pigeon's tag number.

Turns out that pigeon, Number 3089, was a long way from its home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin

“It’s nice we get some attention, It’s a good sport… I have been at it since high school,” says Kasabuske.

Kasabuske, now 83, knows a thing or two about pigeons.

“They are such an amazing bird; they are capable of so much. They can fly a thousand-mile race and come home in two days."

These days, Kasabuske and his racing team, made up of about 30 birds, stick to shorter distances. 

“We still compete in the 500-mile races. These pigeons are fast enough to return home in a day."

Unfortunately, Kasabuske believes Pigeon 3089, who landed in Grassley’s front yard, must have gotten lost. 

“They sometimes get confused, and don’t come home. That's what obviously happened to this one. Most will sit down overnight and come home the next day,” he says.

Preparing for a race isn’t easy feet. It’s comparable to an Olympic training camp, except the athletes are pigeons. Kasabuske's pigeons compete in about 20 races a year. 

At two weeks old, Kasabuske trains his pigeons on how to drink and where home is. By four weeks, they start training on how to fly home. 

In this sport, winning doesn’t require being first. 

“It's the fastest bird that gets home wins the race,“ says Kasabuske .

Win or lose, Kasabuske looks forward to awaiting “his friends'” homecoming.