Security cameras, drone surveillance meant to keep fair safe

A vocal minority of Faribault residents have become convinced the Rice County Fair is a hotbed of riff raff, due to past incidents where younger people get into fights with one another. The county isn’t unique in this regard.

State and county fairs across the country have reportedly seen increased skirmishes involving local youth in recent years, including at the popular Steele County Free Fair , the State Fair , Washington County Fair and many more. This year, Rice County Fair Manager Peter van Sluis said authorities hope to deter any incidents with increased security measures.

“I’m not sure if you saw it, but there’s a post with cameras back there,” he said as he drove a golf cart past the Sheriff’s Office Mobile Command Center. “And they (the Sheriff’s Office) have a drone flying around.”

Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office has met with community leaders from the local mosque, since Sheriff Jesse Thomas said it seemed to be a disproportionate number of Somali youth involved in the recent incidents. Eventually, they worked out an agreement to have cultural liaisons help discourage the disturbances.

In 2022, one fight caused the Rice County Fair to close early on Saturday.It started after a teen stole a tip jar, and someone fell onto and broke County Commissioner Dave Miller’s arm.

“It all happened so fast. So fast,” he said a few months after the incident. “It probably wasn’t intentional, but I guess I got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The sheriff said the incident escalated to involve more than 100 people that night.