ST. PAUL, Minn. (Aug. 21, 2024) — Rachel Visser, a 19-year-old college student from Hutchinson, representing McLeod County, was crowned the 71st Princess Kay of the Milky Way in an evening ceremony Aug. 21 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
Visser will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for the nearly 1,800 Minnesota dairy farm families. She is the daughter of Barry and Shannon Visser and attends the University of Minnesota.
Nine county dairy princesses from throughout Minnesota competed for the Princess Kay of the Milky Way title. Katie Ketchum of Altura, representing Winona County, and Grace Woitalla of Avon, representing Stearns County, were selected as runners-up.
Visser, Ketchum and Woitalla were also named scholarship winners. Mackenzie Moline of Saint Peter, representing Nicollet County, was named Miss Congeniality.
Throughout her year-long reign as Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Visser 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 about the nutritional benefits of dairy and dairy farmers’ continual commitment to environmental sustainability.
Visser’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) to have her likeness sculpted in a 90-pound block of butter the first two days of the Minnesota State Fair – Thursday, Aug. 22, and Friday, Aug. 23. Minnesota artist and butter sculptor Gerry Kulzer will be carving Princess Kay and the finalists.
Other finalists are scheduled to have their likenesses sculpted as follows:
- Saturday, Aug. 24: Miranda Schroeder, Caledonia, representing Houston County
- Sunday, Aug. 25: Grace Woitalla, Avon, representing Stearns County
- Monday, Aug. 26: McKenna Wright, Hutchinson, representing McLeod County
- Wednesday, Aug. 28: Selena Corona, Saint Joseph, representing Stearns County
- Thursday, Aug. 29: Katie Ketchum, Altura, representing Winona County
- Friday, Aug. 30: Katelyn Welgraven, Ruthton, representing Pipestone County
- Saturday, Aug. 31: Mackenzie Moline, Saint Peter, representing Nicollet County
- Sunday, Sept. 1: Afton Nelson, Owatonna, representing Steele County
Throughout the fair, Princess Kay and the other finalists will make appearances near the Butter Sculpture Booth in the Dairy Building. Princess Kay’s Facebook page and Instagram will provide regular 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.
Midwest Dairy® represents 4,000 dairy farm families and works on their behalf to build dairy demand by inspiring consumer confidence in our products and production practices. We are committed to Bringing Dairy to Life! by giving Consumers an Excellent Dairy Experience and are funded by farmers across a 10-state region, including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. For more information, visit MidwestDairy.com, and follow us on Facebook and YouTube.