00:00Summer is gone and fall has officially taken hold.
00:06After months of festivities, it's time to bid farewell to state fairs with food, fun, and college football.
00:13But which state has the best?
00:15In nearly every best of list you see, the great Minnesota get-together and the State Fair of Texas will be represented.
00:22So we crunched the numbers and checked in with some people involved to get to the bottom of it.
00:30I don't know of a state fair that isn't a good time.
00:36Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern may be a bit biased, calling Minnesota his home for more than three decades.
00:43And while he calls Minnesota's entry into the State Fair competition the greatest cultural event in the world,
00:49I mean, they do think that up there. I mean, that's a true thing.
00:52He understands state fairs throughout the nation have a lot to offer.
00:56Especially if you like, you know, everything from sensible foods like mini donuts and footlong hot dogs
01:03and french fries made right in front of you to the outrageous and crazy foods that seem to be dominating.
01:10It's so easy to focus on the delicious fried foods and other culinary creations.
01:15But state fairs are about so much more than that.
01:18The State Earth Texas started as a meeting ground for folks in agriculture and livestock to share best practices and come together.
01:26And we, of course, didn't have the Internet back then.
01:28And so it was the best way to bring everyone together and really make sure that we're sharing those new innovations and technologies.
01:34Yeah, I mean, ag is at the core of what all fairs are about and bringing that mission forward about supporting agriculture.
01:42That is how the fair began. It was about encouraging people to come here and build agriculture and industry in this area that people thought was a frozen tundra.
01:51So, I mean, that again is the core of what we do and it still is today.
01:56Taylor Pulfer is the communications director for the State Fair of Texas.
02:00And Renee Alexander is the CEO of the Minnesota State Fair.
02:04State fairs in Texas and Minnesota welcome millions of people each year.
02:08And that requires community buy-in.
02:11The fair supports thousands of jobs from event staff to local vendors.
02:15I believe we have upwards of 2,000 employees on our state fair payroll.
02:19But then when you think about concessionaires and all the other vendors out here,
02:23it's nearly 7,000 jobs that are created through these 24 days.
02:27And so that is a huge boot to the job market.
02:30We have entrepreneurs that are on these fairgrounds that are building small businesses,
02:35that are sustaining businesses, kids that have their first job,
02:39retirees that are coming in to work during the fair.
02:42And all of that equates to a major boon for the regions hosting those events.
02:47So the last economic study that we did,
02:50the State Fair of Texas was able to generate up to $680 million from the North Texas economy alone.
02:58And so I think that goes to show the ripple effects that the fair event
03:03and the 24 days have on all of Dallas-Fort Worth.
03:06It's been a while since we've done a full economic impact,
03:10but we believe we're about $300 million annually.
03:13So that's about the size of a frivol that goes into a market.
03:16You know, it's starting to seem like these two events have a lot in common,
03:20even though they're located like a thousand miles apart,
03:22and they are not exactly rivals per se.
03:25We all participate in a variety of different industry conferences and groups
03:32to make sure we're sharing best practices.
03:34Because at the end of the day, we're not in competition with each other.
03:37We don't run at the same time of the year.
03:40We are not competing for the same audience per se.
03:45So in our eyes, being able to share our State Fair,
03:50but then also share best practices with other State Fairs,
03:53it just allows us to further make people aware of State Fairs
03:58and the importance that they have in each and every community.
04:02Well, that was a bit of a wash, wouldn't you say?
04:05It seems like two fairs with similar missions, if you will.
04:08I bet if we crunch the numbers, we can get to the bottom of this.
04:11The Minnesota State Fair closed its gates after Labor Day,
04:14while the State Fair of Texas runs through October 19th.
04:18So for the sake of clarity and good sportsmanship,
04:21we've pulled all our data from 2024.
04:24Let's start with attendance.
04:26Last year, the Minnesota State Fair welcomed, get this,
04:29more than 1.9 million visitors.
04:31That's right, nearly 2 million.
04:33Texas easily edged out the Great North with nearly 2.4 million howdies.
04:38But Big Tex has a few distinct advantages.
04:42Let's go to Straight Arrow News sports correspondent, Chris Francis,
04:45to break down the first.
04:47Thanks, Craig.
04:48Yes, the second Saturday in October means the Red River rivalry
04:52between the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma,
04:56named, of course, for the river that separates the two states,
04:59and it's one of the best scenes in all of college sports.
05:02It is appointment television for any college football fan.
05:06Ohio State, Michigan, Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, Florida.
05:09It's like that.
05:10A rivalry like none other.
05:12Listen, the season hasn't gone according to plan for Arch, Manning, and Texas,
05:16and Longhorn fans would admit that.
05:18They started number one in the nation, but two losses have dropped them out of the AP poll entirely.
05:24Oklahoma, on the other hand, undefeated, ranked number six.
05:28Their star quarterback, John Mateer, is a Heisman candidate,
05:31and he could return from a hand injury to play in this game.
05:35That's how much it means.
05:36There have been Heisman Trophy winners on both sides of this rivalry,
05:39but no matter who's suiting up, the game played for over 100 years at the Cotton Bowl
05:44is an event that transcends football.
05:46Dallas is the midway point between the two schools,
05:49and some 200,000 fans will pack the fairgrounds Saturday.
05:53Close to 92,000 will attend the game, and the historic stadium is split in half right down the 50-yard line.
06:00You've got fans in burnt orange on one side and crimson red on the other.
06:05Now, Texas has won more games in the rivalry overall, but Boomer Sooner has won seven of the last ten.
06:12The Golden Gophers technically do play their first game of the season during the fair,
06:17but their stadium is not on the fairgrounds, and they played Buffalo.
06:21That's where I'm from.
06:22Anyways, back to the script.
06:23It did not need to be a football game for it to be a draw.
06:26Its biggest day, the State Fair, that is, in 2024, had over 256,000 visitors in Minnesota.
06:33Texas has another advantage.
06:35Its 24-day run is the longest in the nation.
06:38Meanwhile, its Minnesotan counterpart is known for 12 days of fun.
06:43I mean, they go crazy there.
06:45And this is where soda starts shucking the husk off the corn.
06:48Alright, let's do a little math.
06:49Since Minnesota's fair is shorter, it turns out the average daily attendance of 160,000
06:55at the Minnesota State Fair easily eclipses the 99,000 in Texas.
07:00So who wins in a head-to-head attendance battle?
07:04It appears to depend on which number you think matters the most.
07:08Makes sense, right?
07:09But there's more to measuring a State Fair than attendance.
07:12There's also the size of the space.
07:14Everything's bigger in Texas.
07:16Just ask W, right?
07:17Don't mess with Texas.
07:18Don't mess with our State Fair.
07:20Except the fairgrounds.
07:21Minnesota boasts 322-acre fairgrounds,
07:25while the State Fair of Texas is seated on a paltry 277 acres.
07:30That's a lot of space to imagine.
07:32Alright, so let's bring it back to football.
07:34Minnesota's grounds are about the size of 244 football fields.
07:39Texas, everything's bigger in Texas they say, except here.
07:42Texas only equates to 210 football fields.
07:45While we're onto the way these fairs fill their space,
07:48the aptly named Top of Texas Tower is 500 feet tall
07:53and features sweeping vistas of the Metroplex.
07:56That even sounds big, right?
07:58In Minnesota, you can pretty much do the same thing at the Space Tower,
08:02but it only goes up 300 feet.
08:04Are either of these really rides?
08:07As for history, the State Fair of Texas first opened its gates in the fall of 1886.
08:13It's 50 years after the founding of the Republic of Texas.
08:16In the very same fall, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated 1,000 or so miles north.
08:22The fair will celebrate its 140th anniversary next year.
08:26Minnesota, however, celebrated its 166th fair this year.
08:31And those are just official years.
08:33A couple of fun facts for you.
08:35The Minnesota State Fair started as a territorial fair in 1855.
08:40What is that? Does anybody know what a territorial fair is?
08:42I guess it's a fair in your territory.
08:44Kind of like reflexive.
08:45Alright, anyways, it was this territorial fair thing before it was even a state.
08:49It officially became known as the Minnesota State Fair in 1859.
08:53Remember that year?
08:54That was a year after statehood.
08:56And Teddy Roosevelt, by the way, this is cool.
08:58He gave the speak softly and carry a big stick speech at, wait for it, the Minnesota State Fair in 1901.
09:06Alright, we mentioned fried food earlier.
09:09So let's get into meat on a stick, right?
09:11Everybody goes to the fair hungry and then overeats.
09:14Last year, Fletcher's Original Corny Dogs sold 550,000 dogs slathered in 1,800 gallons of mustard and 850 gallons of ketchup at the State Fair in Texas.
09:25Remember, everything's bigger in Texas, right? So that makes sense.
09:28In Minnesota, fairgoers are pronto pup people, meaning they prefer their hot dogs on a stick, covered in pancake batter, rather than traditional cornmeal batter.
09:39Pronto pups sold more than 2.3 million bucks in their dogs.
09:44At about $7 a pop, you need a calculator for this, that's roughly 330,000 pups.
09:50It's big business, right?
09:52Alright, so what's a fair without agriculture?
09:55Texas had 76 animal births, including 43 piglets and 12 kids.
10:01You know baby goats throughout the 2024 fair?
10:04Minnesota, on the other hand, had 159 animals birthed.
10:10Also at the Minnesota State Fair in 2024, there was a pumpkin weighing.
10:14And get this, one of the pumpkins weighed in excess of 1,800 pounds.
10:18It's almost like 2,000 pounds.
10:20I think that's huge. Can you imagine all the seeds, right?
10:23It could fill a whole city for all of Halloween.
10:25Texas, we're told, does not do produce.
10:28I thought everything was bigger and better in Texas.
10:30I guess not when it comes to produce.
10:32At least not for this story.
10:33Anyways, it's impossible to quantifiably rank which state fair is the best.
10:38But these are two of the biggest, with the richest history of tradition, and are important to millions of people in the regions they support.
10:45Hope you enjoyed this story.
10:47For Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DiGrelli.
10:49For more in-depth reporting, head to san.com and download the Straight Arrow News app.
10:53See you at the fair.
10:54See you at the fair.
10:55.
10:56.
10:57.
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