Princess Kay of the Milky Way Crowned Tonight

(KNSI) – You know the fair is near when you hear the name of the new Princess Kay of The Milky Way. The goodwill ambassador for Minnesota’s dairy farmers will be crowned tonight, the eve of the Minnesota State Fair.

Central Minnesota is again represented well, with three Stearns County dairy princesses in the competition. Isabella Schiffler is from Albany. She’s the daughter of John and Kristie Schiffler. Jaiden Smith from Melrose is the daughter of Jeremey and Emily Smith. Daisy Zimmermann of Sauk Centre is the daughter of Mike and Lori Zimmermann. Isabella speaks of the community, “I would say one of my favorite things is just how close everyone in the dairy community is. I mean, all farmers understand what each other are going through, and so it really is a close community.”

To get this far, candidates were judged on their knowledge of the dairy industry, communication skills, and enthusiasm for promoting dairy. Isabella is a fan. “I would say my favorite dairy product is chocolate milk. It’s really refueling and refreshing, and it has a lot of important nutrients like protein and calcium to help you get through a long day.”

One of the most fun fair traditions is the princesses getting their individual likenesses carved in a 90 pound block of grade AA butter. What to do with those? Daisy says, “I have a large family, so we will probably end up using most of the scraps ourselves. But I would also like to bake cookies for our local shelter. We have to give back there.” Growing up on a dairy farm has other advantages for a candidate as well. The ladies said milking cows definitely gives you the arm strength that you need to be able to keep up that wave.

To compete to be a finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way, each princess submitted an application, participated in a professional interview, prepared and delivered a speech and participated in a mock media interview. The newly crowned Princess Kay will stay busy with approximately 90 events on the calendar in the next year. Meet the Princess Kay finalists here.

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