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State Fair

The 2026 Minnesota State Fair runs Aug. 27 through Sept. 7. For all of the events at the MPR booth and Dan Patch Park, go to mpr.org/statefair.

The 2025 Low-Stakes Debate from MPR News: Because even in a non-election year, everyone has an opinion about everything

The 2025 Low-Stakes Debate from MPR News: Because even in a non-election year, everyone has an opinion about everything

Join us for a lively, fun-filled debate at the Minnesota State Fair! 📅 Thursday, Aug. 28 🕥 10:30 a.m. 📍 MPR Booth, at the corner of Judson Ave and Nelson St on the fairgrounds.
by Heidi Raschke and Matthew Alvarez

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Talent booker juggles all sorts of acts for the Minnesota State Fair

Talent booker juggles all sorts of acts for the Minnesota State Fair

Entertainment companies all across the country compete to get contracts with the Minnesota State Fair. One Minnesota talent booker has been working with the Fair for over 42 years.
by Lukas Levin

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Ojibwe jingle dress brings education, healing to the State Fair

Ojibwe jingle dress brings education, healing to the State Fair

Regalia made in remembrance of Indigenous people impacted by violence is on display in the State Fair’s Fine Arts Center. The jingle dress features names of missing and murdered relatives inside red handprints.
by Melissa Olson

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‘Our way of life’: State Fair traditions keep a Minnesota farm family close across generations

‘Our way of life’: State Fair traditions keep a Minnesota farm family close across generations

Sarah Schmidt hoped her kids would take to the farm life she grew up with and maybe show their animals at the State Fair. Years of early mornings, livestock shows and ribbons prove she didn’t have to worry.
by Sam Stroozas

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‘This will take forever’: My crop art journey to the Minnesota State Fair

‘This will take forever’: My crop art journey to the Minnesota State Fair

A first-time crop artist chronicles her exhausting but joyful journey of creating a whimsical, Magritte-inspired seed art piece for the Minnesota State Fair, discovering both the beauty and madness of gluing millet one seed at a time.
by Alex V. Cipolle

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A kernel of peace: MPR News host Cathy Wurzer finds her zen in crop art

A kernel of peace: MPR News host Cathy Wurzer finds her zen in crop art

With more submissions than ever before, it’s a bumper year for crop art at the Minnesota State Fair. So MPR News host Cathy Wurzer decided that this summer, it was finally time to give it a try.
by Cathy Wurzer and Gracie Stockton

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