Minnesota State Fair

Journey's Neal Schon sues former Waseca mayor Judy Kozan

In a tale ripped straight from the clutches of TMZ, Journey guitarist Neal Schon is involved in a legal battle with Judy Kozan, who used to be the mayor of the southern Minnesota town of Waseca -- and also used to be his mother-in-law.The rocker, who assured his place in the annals of gossip blog fo ... More >>

Depeche Mode unveil 2013 U.S. tour dates -- St. Paul in August

One of the blackest celebrations around just began with the announcement of Depeche Mode's new world tour. The shows are in support of DM's Delta Machine -- familiar initials, eh? The album, coming later this month, is the synth-pop superstars' first since 2009's Sounds of the Universe.Running Augus ... More >>

Rush at Target Center, 9/24/12

RushTarget Center, MinneapolisMonday, September 24, 2012When the Toronto prog trio last visited us at the Minnesota State Fair a couple years ago, if they were hinting that the rest of their touring career's set lists would involve bouncing around their back catalog, then last night's three-hour pe ... More >>

Journey, Pat Benatar and Loverboy at the Minnesota State Fair, 9/1/12

Journey, Pat Benatar featuring Neil Giraldo, Loverboy September 2, 2012 Minnesota State Fair Grandstand Looking kind of like what a band of dudes who jam out in a suburban basement to Loverboy tunes might look like, the Canadian band Loverboy took to the stage as the sun set on an amazing Saturday ... More >>

MN Music-on-a-Stick at the Minnesota State Fair, 8/31/2012

MN Music-on-a-Stick With Semisonic, The Jayhawks, Dessa, Jeremy Messersmith, and Lucy Michelle and the Velvet LapellesMN State Fair Grandstand, St. PaulFriday, August 31, 2012After a summer of record temperature highs, August was the perfect month for outdoor shows, ending with MN Music-on-a-Stick a ... More >>

Weekend Checklist: Communist Daughter, Music On-A-Stick, Journey

This weekend marks the end of August and possibly the warm weather. The State Fair Grandstand invites various local musicians to its stage Friday night with Local Music On-A-Stick featuring Jeremy Messersmith, Dessa, The Jayhawks and more. Communist Daughter also plays at the Cabooze while Teenage M ... More >>

Wanda Jackson on Justin Townes Earle, Adele, and Elvis

See Also:Jeremy Messersmith on Martha's Cookies, Mark Wheat, and the MN State FairMinnesota State Fair 2012 country: Blake Shelton, Wanda Jackson and beer in plastic cupsLegendary rockabilly singer/songwriter and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Wanda Jackson puts out her 31st studio album, Unfin ... More >>

Weekend Checklist: State Fair, Yeasayer, A. Wolf & Her Claws

It's the last full weekend of August, summer is drawing to an end, but the music isn't. The Minnesota State Fair is back with various acts playing until Labor Day. Aby Wolf will take 7th Street Entry stage in celebration A. Wolf and Her Claws vinyl release. Meanwhile Yeasayer will be rocking the sta ... More >>

State Fair pigs examined, none sent home due to flu concerns

See also:New flu strain acquired through contact with pigsThe Minnesota State Fair examined the 250 pigs that arrived at the fairgrounds on Wednesday, and none of the pigs were sent home because of flu concerns, according to the Pioneer Press.According to a Minnesota Department of Health statement, ... More >>

Minnesota State Fair 2012 country: Blake Shelton, Wanda Jackson and beer in plastic cups

Oooooh-wee, what's that smell? Smells like pigs, corn on the cob, and carny sweat. But then, a gentle waft of pheromones floats through the air -- the aroma of a 4-H gal from Faribault locking eyes with her Future Farmer of America. And the soundtrack to it all? The Minnesota State Fair's country mu ... More >>

Summer Set, Bonnie Rait, Murder by Death, and more

Minnesota Cooks events at the State Fair: Celebrating 10 years

See also:Minnesota Cooks brings something rare to the fair - gourmet cookingMinnesota State Fair's newest foods: Camel burgers and lamb testiclesFor the last 10 years Minnesota Cooks, a local organization affiliated with the Minnesota Farmers Union, has held cooking demonstrations, discussions, and ... More >>

Sonora Grill to make its television debut

See Also:Sonora Grill comes to Midtown Global MarketMinnesota State Fair: Newest Foods50 tasty reasons to love Minnesotan foodWe already knew that they were ready for the big time. Soon the world will meet the guys from Sonora Grill when they make their national television debut on the Food Network.

Ice cream and beer bookend this summery Week in Food

While we wouldn't necessarily put ice cream and beer together (that beer/ice cream float idea is better in theory than practice) we don't mind that our Week in Food begins with free ice cream and ends at the State Fair Grounds sucking down 85-plus premium brews. 6/12 This sounds like the best idea ... More >>

Kiss, Motley Crue lead Minnesota State Fair 2012 offerings

​The 2012 running of the great Minnesota get-together is starting to pile up a load of concert offerings for this August. Tops among the Grandstand Concert Series shows is the Minneapolis St. Paul stop on the Kiss-Mötley Crüe joint tour, which will be the first series of dates these two monsters ... More >>

Warm up in the Twin Cities at these hot spots

​The Twin Cities are a pretty decent place to live thanks to our thriving art and performance scenes, our lakes and parks, and our cutting edge fried food at the Minnesota State Fair. Unfortunately, in order to enjoy these treats you must also survive our never ending winters of despair. But tak ... More >>

Dr. John and the Lower 911 at the Minnesota State Fair Leinie Lodge, 9/2/11

Photos by Steve Cohen​Dr. John and the Lower 911 September 2, 2011 Minnesota State Fair Leinie Lodge Bandshell On the first of two nights on the Leinie Lodge Bandshell stage at the Minnesota State Fair, Dr. John and his three-piece back-up band, the Lower 911, wasted no time getting the party ... More >>

Gay marriage ban voted down at the State Fair

Minnesota State Fair fans are not afraid of gay marriage.​There aren't many places more heterosexual than the Minnesota State Fair: Jean shorts and sandals with socks are worn without irony; everything is fried, put on-a-stick, and fried again; and young married couples walk around with whole broo ... More >>

Deep-fried butter on a stick is all too real! [VIDEO]

KCCI's Eric Hanson tries deep-fried butter at the Iowa State Fair.​It's made its way to the Indiana, Wisconsin, Texas, and Iowa State Fairs. Even something called the Canadian National Exhibition has served it. Paula freaking Dean has a recipe for the stuff. But, alas, there's no deep fried bu ... More >>

Weird and wonderful for the Best of Hot Dish: March 21-25, 2011

Even tomatoes can be weird...​What a week! Hot Dish celebrates the oncoming weekend with our picks for the weird, the wonderful and even a post that is truly both.Burrito Loco's Charlie Sheen - a "winning" drink? WEIRD.Rachel Ray cooks her family and her dog? That's WEIRD.Snack Shack lobster laude ... More >>

NYC's Minnesota State Fair Affair Redux

Merch at NYC's "MN State Fair Affair."​Hundreds of New York City's Minnesota expatriates--clad in Twins caps, U of M and Carleton shirts, vintage North Stars jerseys--gathered in Gowanus, Brooklyn last weekend to recreate one of their home state's finest traditions with the Minnesota State Fai ... More >>

Def Leppard and Heart coming to Minnesota State Fair

Photo by Nikki Miller​Time to enter into the musty depths of your closet and find that old acid-washed jean jacket and tattered rock tee (or just head to Hot Topic, I guess) -- you're going to have the perfect place to wear that stuff this summer. As if the State Fair weren't already the ideal sp ... More >>

Minnesota State Fair's longest-running vendor: 113 years and counting

Sara RiceLongest-running vendor's longest-running menu item: hamloaf​Every year State Fair devotees wait in suspense to find out the latest and greatest additions to the food landscape. But quietly, some vendors return year after year, serving foods as classic as the fair itself. This year m ... More >>

Tommy Thayer of KISS talks fandom, first shows, and rock n' roll

Ace Frehley's replacement started out as a mega-fan

Minnesota Cooks brings something rare to the fair--gourmet cooking

Photo: Crystal GrobeLocal chefs cooking today at the fair.​At the Minnesota State Fair we all make mistakes. With temptations on every corner, before you know it you've run out of money and inhaled a week's worth of calories. But there is one place to find gourmet, healthy cooking: Minnesota Cooks ... More >>

RetroRama comes to the State Fair

​In case you missed it earlier this year RetroRama, the annual old-school runway extravaganza, is back and coming to the Minnesota State Fair. The event will be a part of Minnesota History Center's History Day at the Fair. Five local designers will each be tackling one decade in fashion history an ... More >>

Parties at Solera, Bedlam, and Grumpy's: Slideshows from the weekend

Alex Uncapher​This weekend was freaking hot. And we're  not just talking about the weather. While the Minnesota State Fair raged on, locals elsewhere kept it cool at several hot parties throughout the city.

Minnesota State Fair's Top 10 things to do

The Great Minnesota Eat-Together​The main question we get asked when people learn we go to the MN State Fair four times each year is, "What do you do there?" When we learn that some people only go for a couple hours and then leave, we ask them, "How do you possibly see everything in such a sho ... More >>

Minnesota State Fair for cheap: Freeloader bonus

Image courtesy of the Minnesota State Fair​So, you paid the $8 to $11 entrance fee, and you saved money busing in rather than parking in a lot, but you're still worried about spending too much because you are on a fixed budget this year. No worries. There's plenty to do at the fair for little o ... More >>

Minnesota State Fair taste test: worst new foods

These new foods are unlikely to become classics.​When we heard about the new foods at this year's Minnesota State Fair, some sounded great, others gruesome. Would the latter taste as awful as we feared, or would we be eating our words? Here are several we sampled that aren't worth loosening th ... More >>

Best new Minnesota State Fair foods

www.wikipedia.comThis Texas treat defies locavore logic. ​It's here! The list of the new foods to be found at the 2010 Minnesota State Fair has been released, and there's a lot to get excited about. Somewhere between the deep-fried cheeseburger sliders at Axel's and the deep-fried shortcake at G ... More >>

Garrison Keillor lauded for State Fair piece in National Geographic

​The American Society of Magazine Editors' annual National Magazine Awards are out for 2010, and 'Prairie Home Companion" host and author Garrison Keillor took home the first-place award in the essays category. The award,"Recognizes the writer's eloquence, perspective, fresh thinking and uni ... More >>

Minn. State Fair pigs might actually have swine flu

If these results are correct, it would be the first time during this human pandemic that it spread to animals.

Wis. man busted riding three-wheeled scooter on freeway, gets 5th OWI

Daniel Samplanski of Milwaukee was charged this week with drunken driving on the type of scooter most often seen carrying really old people or horrifically obese over-eaters at the Minnesota State Fair.

Fairmongering: Seven straight days at the Minnesota State Fair

Dizzy dispatches from the Great Minnesota Get-Together

State Fair Flickr photostreams take you back

The best place to hold on to memories of the fair is through the eyes of regular folks on photo sharing sites such as Flickr.

Minn. State Fair catches H1N1, officials blame touchy-feely 4-H teens

You know why the greatest event of the year now has to madly try and save face so people still show up for the big Labor Day weekend? Those horny 4-H kids had a little too much fun at the fair and probably spread that H1N1 like candy.

How Minnesotan is the State Fair's fare?

One could spend an entire day at the fair without eating locally grown food

Fairmongering: Seven straight days at the Minnesota State Fair

Dizzy dispatches from the Great Minnesota Get-Together

MPR: Day of State Fair eating improves your cholesterol!

Despite their attempt to scare us with their full day of eating and calorie counting at the "Great Minnesota Get-Together" they actually gave us the greatest state fair news yet!

Two MN foods on 10 most unusual state fair foods list

You won't believe what California fairgoers can find stuffed between a Krispy Kreme...

State Fair free music announced

The full lineup of free music includes some very promising local acts.

Concert Highlights for the Week of August 22 - 28

Mn SAT Answers and Winners

9/4 Morning Communiqué

And the Lord said "deep-fry that puppy!"

And the Lord said "deep-fry that puppy!"

A Fair To Remember

FAME!

DISC CUTTERS