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Ever had that feeling that you forgot something during your visit to the fair? 

Maybe you can’t remember where you left your water bottle or you have to retrace your steps to find your sunglasses. Or worse, you reach for your wallet to pay for those cheese curd tacos and come up empty. 

Be assured, the Minnesota State Fair Lost & Found office has your back, said Blaire Huneke, the fair’s marketing and guest services supervisor.

“You can imagine, with almost 2 million people coming to the fair every year, a lot of items go missing,” she said.

Finders can turn items into one of the multiple information booths or the Lost & Found office on West Dan Patch Avenue. There are also some designated drop off spots in some of the fair buildings.

So far this year fair officials say more than 950 found items have been turned in; at least 520 items have been reported missing and around 350 items have been reunited with owners.

Last year, around 1,800 items were found on the fairgrounds and turned over to Lost & Found. About 1,300 items were reported lost by phone or email, Huneke said. Popular lost items include sunglasses, phones, wallets, jewelry and umbrellas.

“Nine-hundred and thirty of [the 1,300 items] were actually reunited with their owner. So a good chunk of stuff over the 12 days is reunited with their owner,” she added.

Toward the end of the fair, about 75 items a day are reunited with their owners.

“We’re really excited that we’re able to reunite so many people with their things, because it makes somebody’s day,” Huneke said. “And we love doing that.”

“If you can have a little note tucked in your wallet, even if it’s just for the day at the fair [and] in the back of your phone case, if you can have a little sticky note with your phone number and your name, that is the number one way that we will be able to contact you if you lose your stuff,” she said.

Someone turned in some dentures, though Huneke said she doesn’t know if they were reunited with their owner. Strollers and hearing aides have also been turned into the office, she said.

“We’ll make sure that item gets to the Lost & Found, and then we have a great team of staff here that does our best to reunite it with its owner,” she said.

Some fairgoers are unaware these items may have been turned into the Lost & Found already, Huneke said.

“People don’t realize that little things like sunglasses are turned in all the time, up to, wallets or IDs.

Huneke recommends that fairgoers seeking their missing items to head over to the Lost & Found office where a representative will create a record. Staff will ask them their name and any identifiers that describe the item.

“If anyone happens to turn that item in, they’ll have a description of it, and they can match it up, and then they’ll contact you to get your item back,” she said. “If you go to Lost & Found and the item’s already turned in, you’ll be able to get it right there and go home.”

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Regina Medina

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Last year, some 1,800 items were found on the fairgrounds and turned over to Lost & Found. Most of the items were reunited with their owners.

Dude, where’s my phone? The Minnesota State Fair’s Lost & Found can help

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