Although COVID-19 canceled this year's Minnesota State Fair, the tradition of Princess Kay of the Milky Way carries on.
University of Minnesota student from Byron, Minn., named next Princess Kay
Even without the Minnesota State Fair, the tradition of Princess Kay of the Milky Way carries on.
August 13, 2020 at 9:00PM
Brenna Connelly, a 19-year-old college student from Byron, Minn., and representing Olmsted County, was crowned the 67th Princess Kay of the Milky Way at a private ceremony that was streamed virtually Wednesday.
She will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for nearly 3,000 Minnesota dairy farm families. She attends the University of Minnesota.
Ten county dairy princesses from across the state competed for the Princess Kay of the Milky Way title. Emily Benrud, representing Goodhue County, and Maggie Molitor, representing Stearns County, were selected as runners-up.
Connelly's first official duty will be to have her likeness sculpted in a 90-pound block of butter on Thursday in a walk-in, glass-walled refrigerator at the Dairy Building on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
The sculpting is closed to the public, but people can watch and ask questions of the finalists live on Princess Kay's Facebook page at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Minnesota sculptor, Gerry Kulzer, an artist and teacher from Litchfield, will be sculpting all the finalists. Longtime sculptor Linda Christensen will be assisting Kulzer virtually from her home in California while he sculpts Connelly.
The governor said it may be 2027 or 2028 by the time the market catches up to demand.
