It's 13 days until the Minnesota State Fair begins its 2025 run.
Sure, there are corn dogs, the Grandstand shows, and all-you-can-drink milk bar - but there is plenty of new stuff as well.
That also includes WCCO Radio broadcasts of course! Once again, we'll be bringing the bulk of WCCO's lineup out to the fair booth, located near Underwood and Carnes just down from Ye Old Mill. The full schedule can be seen here.
The State Fair's Maria Hayden told Tom Hauser on the WCCO Morning News Friday that they are getting a very special visit this year from NASA. It will be the U.S. space organization's first visit to the fair.
"We've also got a NASA deputy chief flight director coming to join us, who is also a Minnesota native, and Albert Lea High School alum," says Haydon. "So it's really cool that we've got that national connection and also that local connection with the NASA exhibit coming here."
That is NASA's Mike Lammers who will appear at the State Fair over the first weekend and it's coming up quickly. The Minnesota State Fair runs August 21 to September 1, the earliest dates the State Fair can run in it's current format.
Hayden says NASA's exhibit will be a big one.
"You can see spacesuits, see moon rocks, and chat with people from NASA to learn more about space," she says. "So we've got a lot of really fun additions in addition to your favorite cherished fair traditions coming to the fair this year."