ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Jena Hanson (JEN-uh Han-suhn), a 20-year-old college student from Owatonna, representing Steele County, was crowned the 73^rd Princess Kay of the Milky Way in an evening ceremony Aug. 26 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

Hanson will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for the nearly 1,500 Minnesota dairy farm families. She is the daughter of Steve and Suzie Hanson and attends the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Ten dairy princesses from throughout Minnesota competed for the Princess Kay of the Milky Way title. Isabella Schiffler (Iz-uh-BEL-uh Shih-flur) of Albany, representing Stearns County and Jaiden Smith (Jay-den Smith) of Melrose, representing Stearns County, were selected as runners-up.

Hanson, Schiffler and Claudia Frenchick (Claw-dee-uh French-Ick) of St. Martin, representing Meeker County, were named scholarship winners. Smith was named Miss Congeniality.

Throughout her year-long reign as Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Hanson will make public appearances to help connect consumers to Minnesota's dairy farm families. She will work to bring dairy to life through conversations, classroom visits and various speaking engagements about the nutritional benefits of dairy and dairy farmers' continual commitment to environmental sustainability.

Hanson's first official duty as Princess Kay will be to sit in a rotating cooler in the Dairy Building (located at the corner of Judson Avenue and Underwood Street) to have her likeness sculpted in a 90-pound block of butter the first two days of the Minnesota State Fair – Thursday, Aug. 27, and Friday, Aug. 28. Minnesota artist and butter sculptor Gerry Kulzer will be carving Princess Kay and the finalists.   

Other finalists are scheduled to have their likenesses sculpted as follows:

• Saturday, Aug. 29: Jaiden Smith, Melrose, representing Stearns County

• Sunday, Aug. 30: Morgan Morrow, Princeton, representing Benton County

• Monday, Aug. 31: Isabella Schiffler, Albany, representing Stearns County

• Tuesday, Sept. 1: Claudia Frenchick, St. Martin, representing Meeker County

• Wednesday, Sept. 2: Gracie Sellner, Sleepy Eye, representing Brown County

• Thursday, Sept. 3: Daisy Zimmermann, Sauk Centre, representing Stearns County

• Friday, Sept. 4: Stephanie Dykstra, Bigelow, representing Nobles County

• Saturday, Sept. 5: Kalley Christen, Lester Prairie, representing McLeod County
• Sunday, Sept 6: Elizabeth Coudron, Milroy, representing Redwood County

Throughout the fair, Princess Kay and the other finalists will make appearances near the Butter Sculpture Booth in the Dairy Building. Princess Kay's Facebook page and Instagram will share regular updates and photos of each completed butter sculpture.

Princess Kay candidates are judged on their general knowledge of the dairy industry, communication skills and enthusiasm for dairy. Midwest Dairy sponsors the Princess Kay program, which is funded by dairy farmers through their promotion checkoff.

About Midwest Dairy 

Midwest Dairy^® represents 3,600 dairy farm families and works on their behalf to build dairy demand by inspiring consumer confidence in our products and production practices. We are committed to Bringing Dairy to Life! by giving Consumers an Excellent Dairy Experience and are funded by farmers across a 10-state region, including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. For more information, visit MidwestDairy.com, and follow us on Facebook and YouTube.

CONTACT
Megan Anderson
Bellmont Partners Public Relations
megan@bellmontpartners.com
612-423-0335

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SOURCE Midwest Dairy