State Fair

The 2025 Minnesota State Fair runs Aug. 21 through Sept. 1. For all of the events at the MPR booth and Dan Patch Park, go to mpr.org/statefair.

State Fair University: How to walk in Antarctica
MPR’s Morning Edition crew has set out to learn something new about the world each day of the state fair, and today they found a group of scientists and map-makers from the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota who are closely studying Antarctica. Producer Jeff Jones met one of the team’s cartographers, Brad Herried, in…
Are cat videos art?
Should we be concerned when one of Minnesota’s most important cultural institutions becomes known for curating internet cat videos?
State Fair University: What makes a good cutting horse?
MPR’s Cathy Wurzer, a horse lover, visited the equine area of the Minnesota State Fair determined to learn something new. Sure enough, J.P. Bell of the Minnesota Cutting Horse Association introduced her to a concept — and a competition — she had only heard of but never understood. “Cutting” is the term for separating one Read more →
Today at the fair: Meet the governor and watch cat videos
Today at the fair, Gov. Mark Dayton will spend an hour at the MPR booth (at the corner of Judson and Nelson), chatting with MPR News political editor Mike Mulcahy live on the air. He’ll be answering questions from fairgoers and taking questions from radio listeners across the state from noon until 1 p.m. (To Read more →
State Fair goers react to possible U.S. strike on Syria
MPR News reporter Mark Zdechlik went to the Minnesota State Fair, where today is Military Appreciation Day,  to ask people how they think the U.S. should respond to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.  Many fair goers he talked with said they were veterans of the Vietnam War.