Princess Kay of the Milky Way is the title awarded to the winner of the statewide Minnesota Dairy Princess Program, an annual 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 statewide as well as national media coverage.
The competition was the idea of Lew Conlon, who managed the Minnesota Dairy Industry Committee.[1] The name "Princess Kay of the Milky Way" was selected from over 10,000 entries in a 1954 contest to name the Minnesota dairy princess.[2]
Individual counties in Minnesota may select Dairy Princesses who meet the eligibility requirements listed below. These Princesses may then advance to the Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists competition held each spring. Of the nearly 100 princesses in the competition, 10 finalists are selected, and are then required to take on public relations roles at the Minnesota State Fair. The new Princess Kay is selected just before the State Fair, and the coronation takes place the night before the State Fair opens. The crowned Princess Kay then makes numerous media and public appearances during the Fair's 12 days and throughout the coming year on behalf of Minnesota dairy farmers.
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 "communication skills, personality, general knowledge of the dairy industry and its products, and their commitment to dairy promotion."[3]
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 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 nearly 40 years, Linda Christensen has sculpted the Princesses' butter sculptures. Princesses take their butter sculpture home with them at the end of the Fair.[4]
| Year | Name | County | Town | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Eleanor Maley Thatcher | Grand Meadow | ||
| 1955 | Ruth Marie Peterson Faber | Lansing | ||
| 1956 | Barbara Bossus Bohrer | |||
| 1957 | Judy Merritt | Lakeville | ||
| 1958 | Diane Schroeder Dunn | |||
| 1959 | Betty Jax Cole | Adams | ||
| 1960 | Marilyn Christianson Styve | Corning | ||
| 1961 | Diane Kramer | Worthington | ||
| 1962 | Kathy Hjelle Martens | Argyle | ||
| 1963 | Audrey Meyer Carlsen | Clarks Grove | ||
| 1964 | Karen Bracken Geier | Lincoln County | ||
| 1965 | Mary Ann Titrud Springer | Todd County | ||
| 1966 | Linda Kottke | McLeod County | Glencoe | |
| 1967 | Carla Rae Larson Moll | Minneota | ||
| 1968 | Linda Louwagie Brisbane | Marshall | ||
| 1969 | Janelle Gatzke Hahn | Fillmore County | Preston | |
| 1970 | Gayle Krogstad Solum | Norman County | ||
| 1971 | Mary Ann Glawe Hardy | Detroit Lakes | ||
| 1972 | Madge Stapleton Johnson | |||
| 1973 | Lori Anshus Redmer | Canby | ||
| 1974 | Juliet Tessmer Garbow | Hennepin County | Rogers | |
| 1975 | Wanda Ponto Sackter | Kanabec County | Mora | |
| 1976 | Kathy Zeman | Steele County | ||
| 1977 | Beth Aarsvold Olson | Winona County | Peterson | |
| 1978 | Kari Schroht Reuvers | Steele County | ||
| 1979 | Tamara Pennings Goehring | Kandiyohi County | ||
| 1980 | Jean Lindig Kessler | Pine County | ||
| 1981 | Jill Jensen Douglas | Martin County | ||
| 1982 | Janet Forner Bosch | Carver County | Chaska | |
| 1983 | Lisa Schaffer Coyne | Dakota County | Cannon Falls | |
| 1984 | Barbara Bianchi Clayton | Nicollet County | Gibbon | |
| 1985 | Stephanie Dickey Bjella | Clearwater County | Leonard | |
| 1986 | Yvonne Moerke Devito | Grant County | ||
| 1987 | Amy Polikowsky Mesenburg | |||
| 1988 | Marie Dick | Cottonwood County | ||
| 1989 | Katie Scott Johnson | Otter Tail County | ||
| 1990 | Beth Mesenbring-Mastre | Carver County | ||
| 1991 | Julie Felger Mulford | |||
| 1992 | Bridget Hendrickson Jacobson | Fillmore County | Preston | |
| 1993 | Ann Erickson Gibbs | Otter Tail County | Battle Lake | |
| 1994 | Julie Sauber Antonutti | Dakota County | ||
| 1995 | Kimberly Mallery Gusick | Chisago County | ||
| 1996 | Kristi Ann Pettis Osterlund | Sibley County | ||
| 1997 | Kari Skiba Stanek | Anoka/Isanti | ||
| 1998 | Jenny Kinnunen Schlauderaff | Wadena County | ||
| 1999 | Renae Jorgens Gebhart | Yellow Medicine County | ||
| 2000 | Bridget Hollermann Klein | Pope County | ||
| 2001 | Kelsey Olson | Fillmore County | Spring Valley | |
| 2002 | Sarah Olson Schmidt | McLeod County | ||
| 2003 | Tae Vander Kooi Nordby | Nobles County | Worthington | |
| 2004 | Christina Rettmann | Renville County | Buffalo Lake | |
| 2005 | Rebekah Dammann Reuter | McLeod County | Lester Prairie | |
| 2006 | Audrey Mohr | Brown County | New Ulm | |
| 2007 | Ann Miron | Washington County | Hugo | |
| 2008 | Kristy Mussman | Steele County | Claremont | |
| 2009 | Elizabeth Olson | McLeod County | Hutchinson | |
| 2010 | Katie Miron | Washington County | Hugo | |
| 2011 | Mary Zahurones | Morrison County | Pierz | |
| 2012 | Christine Reitsma | Stearns County | Sauk Centre | |
| 2013 | MarJenna McWilliam Koehler | Polk County | Winger | |
| 2014 | Jeni Haler | Norwood Young America | ||
| 2015 | Kyla Mauk | Howard Lake | ||
| 2016 | Haley Hinrichs | Goodhue | ||
| 2017 | Emily Annexstad | St. Peter | ||
| 2018 | Rebekka Paskewitz | Browerville | ||
| 2019 | Amy Kyllo | Olmsted County | Byron | |
| 2020 | Brenna Connelly | Olmsted County | Byron[5] | |
| 2021 | Anna Euerle | Litchfield | ||
| 2022 | Rachel Rynda | LeSueur County | Montgomery[6] | |
| 2023 | Emma Kuball | Rice County | Waterville[7] |