Peterson: A Wisconsinite’s take on the Minnesota State Fair

If you’re from out of state like me, then the Minnesota State Fair seems like any other state fair. There’s greasy food, sweet treats, and games that cheat you out of all of your money. Despite this, I still found myself at the fair for the first time this year and wasn’t disappointed. 

When my friends Max, Mansoor and I walked through the gates we were welcomed with a large crowd of food stands and barns filled with all sorts of farm animals. The award-winning horses, cows, and goats were put on display for everyone to admire, and I made sure to spend some time with the goats, as they are the cutest farm animal by far. 

The first stop for food was cheese curds. They don’t compare to the curds you can find in Wisconsin, but they were still able to put a smile on my face and even tempted Mansoor and me to go back for seconds. Max, being deathly allergic to the dairy curds, avoided them like the plague. 

We then made our way to the Minnesota Newspaper Museum to learn about the history of the newspaper industry. The workers in the museum demonstrated how newspapers were produced before computer programs that we use like InDesign were a thing, and it was fascinating to see how journalists used to create their work. 

It made us all appreciate the speed of computers we have now and the lack of danger that comes with editing.

We all then walked around the fairgrounds to see what other attractions were available for our entertainment to plan out the rest of our day.

The one thing I was determined to get that day was the roasted corn on the cob, and it felt like I was on a life mission to find that stand. I kept walking by people with the corn, but couldn’t find the stand itself and was starting to get frustrated.

After a long hunt, I finally found the stand and happily spent the $4 for a single, buttery cob of corn.

The three of us continued our walk to find more newspaper stands to geek over, including the Star Tribune and KARE 11. 

Max and I quickly realized we needed some drinks in our hands, so we made our way around the fair to find something we would both enjoy. I tested out a stand that had wine slushies, as I heard an abundance of good reviews on them, and was pleasantly surprised how good a $12 could taste. 

I already knew before going into the fair that Sweet Martha’s was a mandatory stop, so towards the end of the night we all stood in the long line for the chocolatey treat. The wait, of course, was worth it, as we all devoured as many cookies as we could right away.

I might not have gone on any rides this year, but I’m confident I’ll be back to test those out in the near future, as well as picking up some more Sweet Martha’s cookies.