Protest temporarily shuts down State Fair gate, stops traffic and bus service

Officials closed the main gate to the Minnesota State Fair for nearly an hour Saturday after a nearby protest stopped traffic and bus services.

According to a statement from fair officials, the gate at Snelling Avenue and Midway Parkway was closed at 2 p.m. due to what appeared to be a pro-Palestinian demonstration.

“Select buses that utilize the gate were paused and pedestrians were redirected to other gates,” the statement read. “Operations resumed following the demonstration at approximately 2:50 p.m.”

Video posted on X at showed a group of people standing in the intersection, with some of them holding Palestinian flags, the area locked in conflict between Hamas and Israel. Cease-fire talks in the war are ongoing, though there were reports Saturday of Israeli airstrikes killing dozens in Gaza.

Fair officials have celebrated record attendance so far this year, marking the event’s opening two days as the most well-attended in Minnesota State Fair history. The record for State Fair attendance was set in 2019, when more than 2.1 million people visited the Great Minnesota Get-Together.