Behind-the-scenes work under way, one month before State Fair starts

It’s one month from the start of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair, and the historic fairgrounds in Falcon Heights are coming back to life.

While there’s much hoopla over the new foods, the unsung volunteers and contractors are hard at work behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly during the fair’s 12-day run.

“You know, every year, when we finally get it put together, we step back and marvel,” said John Jakel, who was dabbing on a fresh coat of blue paint on the front doors of the Hamline Church Dining Hall.

The hardest part of the project was widening the doorway to make it easier for wheelchair users to get inside and enjoy the famous ham loaf with a slab of pie on the side.

“It always seems unlikely, but we did it again,” he said, noting that the refurbished front entrance is part of the annual upkeep of the dining hall.

Over at the Ag-Hort Building, Eric Green only found out two weeks ago that he’ll help on the complete renovation of the the room that housed the popular crop art display.

“We had to build a new wall, we’re recoating everything,” Green said. “This is a very proud project for myself and my company, because everyone gets to see the job that we’ve done.

Few will see what Steve Nelson has done at Coasters Beer Garden.

“We’re renovating the back of the bars,” he said. “New beer lines and pop lines got put in so we had to expand things back there, and restructure it.”

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Nelson, who lives in St. Paul but hasn’t been to the fair for at least a decade.

“It’s a blast working out at the fair,” he said. “Now I’m out here as a contractor, and it reminds me of how much fun the fair is. I will be going to the fair this year.”

One between-fairs project is already complete; the much-revered Space Towe will be operational.

It went down during last year’s fair and couldn’t be repaired until the right parts were found delivered.

For a ride that first debuted 59 years ago, that took a while.

But the Space Tower is back, having been used earlier this summer during the Back to the 50’s car show.

The Minnesota State Fair begins August 22, and runs through Labor Day, September 2.

2024 is the 30th anniversary of the first Minnesota State Fair attended by WCCO's Al Schoch. There are no commemorations scheduled.