ST.
PAUL, Minn., Aug. 21,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rachel Visser (Viss-er), a
19-year-old college student from Hutchinson, representing McLeod County, was crowned the 71st
Princess Kay of the Milky Way in an evening ceremony Aug. 21 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
Visser will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for the
nearly 1,800 Minnesota dairy farm
families. She is the daughter of Barry and
Shannon Visser and attends the University of Minnesota.
Nine county dairy princesses from throughout Minnesota competed for the Princess Kay of the
Milky Way title. Katie Ketchum
(Ket-chum) of Altura, representing
Winona County, and Grace Woitalla (Why-tall-uh) of Avon, representing Stearns County, were selected as
runners-up.
Visser, Ketchum and Woitalla were also named scholarship
winners. Mackenzie Moline (Mo-lean)
of Saint Peter, representing
Nicollet County, was named Miss
Congeniality.
Throughout her year-long reign as Princess Kay of the Milky Way,
Visser will make public appearances to help connect consumers to
Minnesota's dairy farm families.
She will work to bring dairy to life through conversations,
classroom visits and various speaking engagements about the
nutritional benefits of dairy and dairy farmers' continual
commitment to environmental sustainability.
Visser's first official duty as Princess Kay will be to sit in a
rotating cooler in the Dairy Building (located at the corner of
Judson Avenue and Underwood Street) to have her likeness sculpted
in a 90-pound block of butter the first two days of the Minnesota
State Fair – Thursday, Aug. 22, and
Friday, Aug. 23. Minnesota artist and butter sculptor
Gerry Kulzer will be carving
Princess Kay and the finalists.
Other finalists are scheduled to have their likenesses sculpted
as follows:
- Saturday, Aug. 24:
Miranda Schroeder, Caledonia, representing Houston County
- Sunday, Aug. 25: Grace Woitalla, Avon, representing Stearns County
- Monday, Aug. 26: McKenna
Wright, Hutchinson,
representing McLeod County
- Wednesday, Aug. 28: Selena Corona,
Saint Joseph, representing
Stearns County
- Thursday, Aug. 29: Katie
Ketchum, Altura,
representing Winona County
- Friday, Aug. 30: Katelyn
Welgraven, Ruthton,
representing Pipestone County
- Saturday, Aug. 31: Mackenzie Moline, Saint Peter, representing Nicollet
County
- Sunday, Sept. 1: Afton
Nelson, Owatonna,
representing Steele County
Throughout the fair, Princess Kay and the other finalists will
make appearances near the Butter Sculpture Booth in the Dairy
Building. Princess Kay's Facebook page and Instagram will
provide regular updates and photos of each completed butter
sculpture.
Princess Kay candidates are judged on their general knowledge of
the dairy industry, communication skills and enthusiasm for dairy.
Midwest Dairy sponsors the Princess Kay program, which is funded by
dairy farmers through their promotion checkoff.
About Midwest Dairy®
Midwest Dairy® represents 4,000 dairy
farm families and works on their behalf to build dairy demand by
inspiring consumer confidence in our products and production
practices. We are committed to Bringing Dairy to
Life! by giving Consumers an Excellent Dairy Experience
and are funded by farmers across a 10-state region, including
Minnesota, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Nebraska,
Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. For more information,
visit MidwestDairy.com, and follow us
on Facebook and YouTube.
CONTACT
Sara
Grasmon
Bellmont Partners Public Relations
sara@bellmontpartners.com
320-522-0483
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/minnesota-dairy-community-crowns-71st-princess-kay-of-the-milky-way-302228099.html
SOURCE Midwest Dairy