Princess Kay of the Milky Way

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Princess Kay of the Milky Way 2007 carved in butter.
Princess Kay of the Milky Way 2007 carved in butter.

Princess Kay of the Milky Way is the title awarded to the winner of the state-wide Minnesota Dairy Princess Program, an annual pageant competition organized by the Midwest Dairy Association. During her one year term, the Princess Kay of the Milky Way serves as official good-will ambassador for the Minnesota dairy industry. The Princess is crowned every year at the Minnesota State Fair, and receives a scholarship. The crowning of Princess Kay annually garners state-wide as well as national media coverage.

The name "Princess Kay of the Milky Way" was selected from over 10,000 in a 1954 contest to name the Minnesota dairy princess.

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[edit] Pageant Process

Individual counties in Minnesota may select any number of Dairy Princesses at any time during the year. The princess must meet eligibility requirements listed below. These Princesses may then elect to participate in the Princess Kay of the Milky Way pageant competition. Of the over 100 contestants in the competition, twelve finalists are selected in the pageant, and are then required to take on public relations roles at the Minnesota State Fair. The crowned Princess Kay then makes numerous media and public appearances throughout the coming year on behalf of Minnesota dairy producers.

Contestants must be U.S. citizens, and their parents, guardians, or siblings must be actively involved in the production of dairy products. They must also have completed a high school education, be under the age of 24, and be unmarried with no children. Candidates are judged on "appearance, communication skills, general knowledge of the dairy industry, personality and enthusiasm for dairy promotion." [1]

[edit] Butter Sculptures

One of the carved butter heads from the 2005 Minnesota State Fair
One of the carved butter heads from the 2005 Minnesota State Fair

Since 1965, sculptures of the winning Princess Kay and other finalists have been carved, one per day, at the Minnesota State Fair. Recent butter sculptures have been carved out of a 90 pound block of Grade A butter, in a walk-in, glass-walled refrigerator. The butter is manufactured by Associated Milk Producers, Inc., in New Ulm, Minnesota. The butter carving booth is one of the most popular exhibits at the Fair. The carving of the butter sculpture takes 6-8 hours per finalist. For the past 34 years, Linda Christensen has sculpted the Princesses' butter sculptures. Princesses take their butter sculpture home with them at the end of the Fair.

Close up view of a butter head.
Close up view of a butter head.
The refrigerated sculpting studio, Aug 2007.
The refrigerated sculpting studio, Aug 2007.

[edit] Previous Princesses

Below is a list of previous Princesses. * indicates deceased.

Year Name County Town Current residence
1954 Eleanor Maley Thatcher Mower County Grand Meadow Rochester
1955 Ruth Marie Peterson Faber Mower County Lansing Le Mars, Iowa
1956 Barbara Bossus Bohrer* Crow Wing County Brainerd
1957 Judy Merritt Dakota County Lakeville Amery, Wisconsin
1958 Diane Schroeder Dunn Polk County Fertile Spirit Lake, Iowa
1959 Betty Jax Cole Mower County Adams, Minnesota Plymouth
1960 Marilyn Christianson Styve Freeborn County Corning Afton
1961 Diane Kramer Nobles County Worthington Clarinda, Iowa
1962 Kathy Hjelle Martens Marshall County Argyle Willmar
1963 Audrey Meyer Carlsen* Freeborn County Clarks Grove
1964 Karen Bracken Geier Lincoln County Verdi Minnetonka
1965 Mary Ann Titrud Springer Todd County Clarissa Minnetonka
1966 Linda Kottke McLeod County Glencoe Deadwood, South Dakota
1970 Gayle Krogstad Solum Norman County Ada Barnesville
1971 Mary Ann Glawe Hardy Becker County Detroit Lakes The Colony, Texas
1972 Madge Stapleton Johnson Houston County Caladonia Burnsville
1973 Lori Anshus Redmer Yellow Medicine County Canby Minneapolis
1974 Juliet Tessmer Garbow Hennepin County Rogers Saginaw, Michigan
1975 Wanda Ponto Sackter Kanabec County Mora Eagan
1976 Kathy Zeman Steele County Owatonna Kenyon
1977 Beth Aarsvold Olson Winona County Peterson Lewiston
1978 Kari Schroht Reuvers Steele County Owatonna Willmar
1979 Tamara Pennings Goehring Kandiyohi County Blomkest Albany
1980 Jean Lindig Kessler Pine County Pine City Plymouth
1981 Jill Jensen Douglas Martin County East Chain Merrillville, Indiana
1982 Janet Forner Bosch Carver County Chaska Montevideo
1983 Lisa Schaffer Coyne Dakota County Cannon Falls Spring Valley, Wisconsin
1984 Barbara Bianchi Clayton Nicollet County Gibbon Hartland, Wisconsin
1985 Stephanie Dickey Bjella Clearwater County Leonard Everett, Washington
1986 Yvonne Moerke Devito Grant County Ashby Mora
1987 Amy Polikowsky Mesenburg Olmsted County Byron Byron
1988 Marie Dick Cottonwood County Bingham Lake Bingham Lake
1989 Katie Scott Johnson West Otter Tail County Battle Lake Underwood
1990 Beth Mesenbring-Mastre Carver County Cologne Omaha, Nebraska
1991 Julie Felger Mulford Kanabec County Mora Mora
1992 Bridget Hendrickson Jacobson Fillmore County Preston Roseville
1993 Ann Erickson Gibbs West Otter Tail County Battle Lake Battle Lake
1994 Julie Sauber Antonutti Dakota County Lakeville Esko
1995 Kimberly Mallery Gusick Chisago County Shafer Coleman, Wisconsin
1996 Kristi Ann Pettis Sibley County Winthrop Billings, Montana
1997 Kari Skiba Stanek Anoka/Isanti North Branch Reedsburg, Wisconsin
1998 Jenny Kinnunen Wadena County Menahga Minnetonka
1999 Renae Jorgens Gebhart Yellow Medicine County Boyd Meadow, South Dakota
2000 Bridget Hollermann Pope County Farewell Litchfield
2001 Kelsey Olson Fillmore County Spring Valley Spring Valley
2002 Sarah Olson McLeod County Hutchinson Ireton, Iowa
2003 Tae Vander Kooi Nobles County Worthington Worthington
2004 Christina Rettmann Renville County Buffalo Lake Buffalo Lake
2005 Rebekah Dammann McLeod County Lester Prairie Lester Prairie
2006 Audrey Rose Mohr Brown County New Ulm New Ulm
2007 Ann Miron Washington County Hugo Hugo

[edit] References