State Fair

Renee Alexander, deputy general manager at the Minnesota State Fair and head of the fair’s entertainment offerings, will be the new CEO for the Great Minnesota Get Together. 

The Minnesota State Fair has announced its first Grandstand show for the 2023 fair: Duran Duran will play the Grandstand on Thursday, Aug. 31.

The Minnesota State Fair's longest-serving general manager is stepping down this spring. Jerry Hammer will retire after more than 50 years of working at the fair.

The final day of the fair's 12-day run wrapped up with nearly 157,000 visitors, putting the total for 2022 at 1,842,222.

"There's too many guns on the streets,” Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday as he announced the victim from Monday’s night shooting just outside the fairgrounds had been discharged. Gunfire inside the fair Saturday night sent fairgoers running for cover.

Fairgoers soaked up the Minnesota State Fair’s return, with even a security scare on Saturday not keeping the holiday weekend crowds away.

The Hamline Church Dining Hall is a Minnesota State Fair tradition that continues to thrive amid the fried ice cream, falafel on a stick, pronto pups, turkey legs and other unusual eats. But it’s not just the food that keeps people coming back.

The Minnesota State Fair closed early after reports of “disturbances” in the Midway area Saturday evening around 10:20 p.m., according to the fair’s website.

The Minnesota State Fair is a different experience for everyone. There is no denying it is loud, overcrowded and anxiety-inducing but if you’re autistic, it can be even more nerve-wracking. Jillian Nelson of the Autism Society of Minnesota took MPR News on a tour of the fair through the lens of an autistic person.

Fair food vendors dispose of 125,000 to 150,000 pounds of used cooking oil most years. That grease is then picked up and recycled into something else.