Princess Kay of the Milky Way

Princess Kay of the Milky Way is the title awarded to the winner of the statewide Minnesota Dairy Princess Program, an annual competition organized by the Midwest Dairy Association. During her one year term, the Princess Kay of the Milky Way serves as official good will ambassador for the Minnesota dairy industry. The Princess is crowned every year at the Minnesota State Fair, and receives a scholarship. The crowning of Princess Kay annually garners statewide as well as national media coverage. The name "Princess Kay of the Milky Way" was selected from over 10,000 entries in a 1954 contest to name the Minnesota dairy princess.

Individual counties in Minnesota may select Dairy Princesses who meet the eligibility requirements listed below. These Princesses may then advance to the Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists competition held each spring. Of the nearly 100 princesses in the competition, 10 finalists are selected, and are then required to take on public relations roles at the Minnesota State Fair. The new Princess Kay is selected just before the State Fair, and the coronation takes place the night before the State Fair opens. The crowned Princess Kay then makes numerous media and public appearances during the Fair's 12 days and throughout the coming year on behalf of Minnesota dairy farmers. Contestants must be U. S. citizens, and their parents, guardians, or siblings must be actively involved in the production of dairy products. They must also have completed a high school education, be under the age of 24, and be unmarried with no children. Candidates are judged on "communication skills, personality, general knowledge of the dairy industry and its products, and their commitment to dairy promotion."

Since 1965, sculptures of the winning Princess Kay and other finalists have been carved, one per day, at the Minnesota State Fair. Recent butter sculptures have been carved out of a 90 pound block of Grade A butter, in a walk in, glass walled refrigerator. The butter is manufactured by Associated Milk Producers in New Ulm, Minnesota. The butter carving booth is one of the most popular exhibits at the Fair. The carving of the butter sculpture takes 6–8 hours per finalist. For nearly 40 years, Linda Christensen has sculpted the Princesses' butter sculptures. Princesses take their butter sculpture home with them at the end of the Fair.

Year Name County Town 1954 Eleanor Maley Thatcher Mower County Grand Meadow 1955 Ruth Marie Peterson Faber Mower County Lansing 1956 Barbara Bossus Bohrer Crow Wing County Brainerd 1957 Judy Merritt Dakota County Lakeville 1958 Diane Schroeder Dunn Polk County Fertile 1959 Betty Jax Cole Mower County Adams 1960 Marilyn Christianson Styve Freeborn County Corning 1961 Diane Kramer Nobles County Worthington 1962 Kathy Hjelle Martens Marshall County Argyle 1963 Audrey Meyer Carlsen Freeborn County Clarks Grove 1964 Karen Bracken Geier Lincoln County Verdi 1965 Mary Ann Titrud Springer Todd County Clarissa 1966 Linda Kottke McLeod County Glencoe1967 Carla Rae Larson Moll Lyon County Minneota1968 Linda Louwagie Brisbane Lyon County Marshall1969Janelle Gatzke HahnFillmore CountyPreston 1970 Gayle Krogstad Solum Norman County Ada 1971 Mary Ann Glawe Hardy Becker County Detroit Lakes 1972 Madge Stapleton Johnson Houston County Caledonia 1973 Lori Anshus Redmer Yellow Medicine County Canby 1974 Juliet Tessmer Garbow Hennepin County Rogers 1975 Wanda Ponto Sackter Kanabec County Mora 1976 Kathy Zeman Steele County Owatonna 1977 Beth Aarsvold Olson Winona County Peterson 1978 Kari Schroht Reuvers Steele County Owatonna 1979 Tamara Pennings Goehring Kandiyohi County Blomkest 1980 Jean Lindig Kessler Pine County Pine City 1981 Jill Jensen Douglas Martin County East Chain 1982 Janet Forner Bosch Carver County Chaska 1983 Lisa Schaffer Coyne Dakota County Cannon Falls 1984 Barbara Bianchi Clayton Nicollet County Gibbon 1985 Stephanie Dickey Bjella Clearwater County Leonard 1986 Yvonne Moerke Devito Grant County Ashby 1987 Amy Polikowsky Mesenburg Olmsted County Byron 1988 Marie Dick Cottonwood County Bingham Lake 1989 Katie Scott Johnson Otter Tail County Battle Lake 1990 Beth Mesenbring Mastre Carver County Cologne 1991 Julie Felger Mulford Kanabec County Mora 1992 Bridget Hendrickson Jacobson Fillmore County Preston 1993 Ann Erickson Gibbs Otter Tail County Battle Lake 1994 Julie Sauber Antonutti Dakota County Lakeville 1995 Kimberly Mallery Gusick Chisago County Shafer 1996 Kristi Ann Pettis Osterlund Sibley County Winthrop 1997 Kari Skiba Stanek Anoka/Isanti North Branch 1998 Jenny Kinnunen Schlauderaff Wadena County Menahga 1999 Renae Jorgens Gebhart Yellow Medicine County Boyd 2000 Bridget Hollermann Klein Pope County Farewell 2001 Kelsey Olson Fillmore County Spring Valley 2002 Sarah Olson Schmidt McLeod County Hutchinson 2003 Tae Vander Kooi Nordby Nobles County Worthington 2004 Christina Rettmann Renville County Buffalo Lake 2005 Rebekah Dammann Reuter McLeod County Lester Prairie 2006 Audrey Mohr Brown County New Ulm 2007 Ann Miron Washington County Hugo 2008 Kristy Mussman Steele County Claremont 2009 Elizabeth Olson McLeod County Hutchinson 2010 Katie Miron Washington County Hugo 2011 Mary Zahurones Morrison County Pierz 2012 Christine Reitsma Stearns County Sauk Centre 2013 MarJenna McWilliam Koehler Polk County Winger 2014 Jeni Haler Carver County Norwood Young America2015Kyla Mauk Wright County Howard Lake2016Haley Hinrichs Goodhue County Goodhue2017Emily AnnexstadNicollet County St. Peter2018 Rebekka Paskewitz Todd County Browerville2019 Amy Kyllo Olmsted County Byron2020Brenna Connelly Olmsted County Byron2021 Anna Euerle Meeker County Litchfield2022Rachel Rynda LeSueur County Montgomery2023Emma Kuball Rice County Waterville