Anna Euerle (EARL-EE), a 19-year-old college student from Litchfield, Minnesota, representing Meeker County, was crowned the 68th Princess Kay of the Milky Way in an evening ceremony at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Aug. 25.
Euerle will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for nearly 2,500 Minnesota dairy farm families. She is the daughter of Vaughn and Joan Euerle and attends Ridgewater College.
Ten county dairy princesses from throughout Minnesota competed for the Princess Kay of the Milky Way title. Isabelle Lindahl (LIN-DOLL) of Lindstrom, representing Chisago County, and Megan Meyer (MY-ER) of Rollingstone, representing Winona County, were selected as runners-up.
Kelsey Erf (URF) of Oakdale representing Washington County, Emily Leonard (LEN-ERD) of Norwood Young America representing Carver County, along with Lindahl, were named scholarship winners. Katrina Thoe (TH-O) of Hayfield representing Dodge County was named Miss Congeniality.
Throughout her year-long reign as Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Euerle will make public appearances to help connect consumers to Minnesota’s dairy farm families. She will work to bring dairy to life through conversations, classroom visits and various speaking engagements.
Euerle’s first official duty as Princess Kay will be to sit in a rotating cooler in the Dairy Building (located at the corner of Judson Avenue and Underwood Street) for nearly eight hours to have her likeness sculpted in a 90-pound block of butter the first two days of the Minnesota State Fair – Thursday, Aug. 26 and Friday, Aug. 27. This year marks butter sculptor Linda Christensen’s 50th and final year carving the Princess Kay of the Milky Way winner at the Minnesota State Fair. The remaining nine finalists will be carved by Linda’s successor, Minnesota native Gerry Kulzer.
Other finalists are scheduled to have their likenesses sculpted as follows:
- Saturday, Aug. 28: Kelsey Erf, Oakdale, representing Washington County
- Sunday, Aug. 29: Emily Leonard, Norwood Young America, representing Carver County
- Monday, Aug. 30: Jessica Ohmann, Albany, representing Stearns County
- Tuesday, Aug. 31: Alaina Johnson, Dakota, representing Houston County
- Wednesday, Sept. 1: Megan Meyer, Rollingstone, representing Winona County
- Thursday, Sept. 2: Isabelle Lindahl, Lindstrom, representing Chisago County
- Friday, Sept. 3: Katrina Thoe, Hayfield, representing Dodge County
- Saturday, Sept. 4: Kelsey Kuball, Waterville, representing Rice County; and
- Sunday, Sept. 5: Emeliya Dose, Plainview, representing Wabasha County
Throughout the fair, Princess Kay and the other finalists will make appearances near the Butter Sculpture Booth in the Dairy Building and at the Moo Booth in the Dairy Barn. Princess Kay’s Facebook page (facebook.com/princesskayofthemilkyway) will provide daily updates and photos of each completed butter sculpture.
Princess Kay candidates are judged on their general knowledge of the dairy industry, communication skills and enthusiasm for dairy. Midwest Dairy sponsors the Princess Kay program, which is funded by dairy farmers through their promotion checkoff.