People queue up for the 7 a.m. opening of the main gate on Snelling Avenue on the first day of the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
The Ramsey family, from left, dad Jeff, son Ryan, wife Tina, grandfather Roger and sister Denise Zirbel, of Rogers, Minn. take a selfie at the North entrance of the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on the opening day of the Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Brynn Justen, 5, from Bloomington, rides atop the shoullders of her dad, Rob, as they wait in line for food on the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Lino Lakes Blue Heron Day ambassadors, from left, Tabitha Johnson, Amelia Patterson and Emily Black laugh as they pet a cow in the Cattle Barn on the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Alex Brown, from Hastings, walks through the Midway with a giant stuffed sloth she won at a ring toss game on the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. “I win one every year and usually give them away to kids,” said Brown about her prize. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Brothers Dustin, 13, left, and Jared Portner, 14, of Sleepy Eye, Minn. play a game of slapjack to pass the time in the Cattle Barn on the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Kate Johnson, 15, left, and Mari Christopherson, 14, are spun around, upside down, on the Defender ride on the Midway during the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
A crowd throngs the Fairgrounds on the opening day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Tom Perry, of Minong, Wis., works the pancake grill at the Hamline Dining Hall on the opening day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Kimm Schneide, of Minneapolis, hands a customer a caramel roll at the Hamline Dining Hall on the opening day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Aaron Grimm, 12, from Kettle River, Minn., sits with his three-year old Holstein Friesian cow, “Happy Day,” in the cattle barn on the opening day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Saraya King, 13, right, from Maplewood, tries her hand at the milk-can ball toss as her friend, Serena Rosckes, 13, of Woodbury, watches on the Midway on the opening day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Walter Ashworth, 3, pets a mini lop rabbit through the bars of its cage in the Sheep and Poultry Barn on the opening day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
A fiddler with the Young Fiddlers Association of Minnesota perform on the Cosgrove Stage on the opening day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Alex King, supervisor of the Bee and Honey Department, transports a beehive frame to the Little Farm Hands display on the opening day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Fairgoers break out the umbrellas and ponchos as the rain begins to fall during the afternoon on the opening day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Fairgoers break out the umbrellas and ponchos — or get wet — as the rain begins to fall during the afternoon on the opening day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
