State Fair

From WCCO's archives: The 1993 Minnesota State Fair

By David Schuman

August 22, 2023 / 10:00 PM CDT / CBS Minnesota

See what the Minnesota State Fair was like 30 years ago

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. – We're all looking ahead to the Minnesota State Fair this week, but we also decided to take a look back.

Hours spent digging 30 years back through the WCCO archives give a special, nostalgic look at the Great Minnesota Get-Together from 1993.

MINNESOTA STATE FAIR: Your complete 2023 guide to getting in, getting around, and getting deals

Just as it is now, the State Fair always has been about food first. In 1993, the trendy new dish was fried green tomatoes.

A vendor selling the snack said, "This year we found a product that nobody else had. The Fair was real excited about it because it was so different. And it's really generated a lot of popularity."

From the archive: WCCO at the Minnesota State Fair (1985)

A WCCO reporter found that another new food was shrimp and pineapple on a stick. And Pronto Pups were popular back then, too.

There have also always been the people who had to get in the gate first. WCCO featured Debbi and Jim Baxter, parents of three, who were one of the first families inside five years in a row.

"It's not as crowded so you can get around and see a lot of stuff without having to maybe wait in a long line," Debbi Baxter said then.

Jim Baxter added, "It's the only sane time of day, really."

From the archive: WCCO at the Minnesota State Fair (1986)

Thirty years later, the Baxters don't get to the Fair quite so early, but still in time for breakfast.

"She wanted to be there early, like the first one. Me, not so much," Jim Baxter told us.

The couple hasn't missed a Fair since.

"We're hoping to be there on the first day this year and then we'll go a second time with our kids and our grandkids," Debbi Baxter said.

From the archive: WCCO at the Minnesota State Fair (1989-1992)

Crowds and long lines haven't gone anywhere either.

"Too long. Lines are too long," a man told WCCO in 1993. "Got to wait all day to get on one ride."

Dave Huddleston had just joined WCCO in 1993. He reported from the State Fair that year, and when we showed him some of the clips, he said he looked like he was 12.

Huddleston has nothing but the best memories of the Fair, and he even came back to visit with his family in 2019 from their home in Georgia.

From the archive: WCCO at the Minnesota State Fair (1993-2008)

"I never really paid much attention to a state fair and I get here and I'm like, 'What is it about this fair?'" Huddleston said. "And then you actually go to the Fair and it is by far one of the best events, family events. Our kids grew up going to the Fair. We would go every year multiple times."

The Fair in 1993 saw its share of celebrities – Dolly Parton and Jeff Dunham performed.

What really shows just how long 30 years ago was is what popped up in the lost and found. A WCCO story featured large cameras, pagers and ATM cash cards. The reporter says, "Watching strangers return other people's treasures convinces Janet [the lost and found operator] Minnesotans are mostly honest."

One man certainly got honest in front of a WCCO camera, saying he'd wait as long as it takes for unhealthy junk food. So yeah, not much has changed.

From the archive: Promos of WCCO at the Minnesota State Fair

David Schuman

David joined the WCCO team in April 2020, previously working at CBS 58 in Milwaukee. Prior to that, he worked in Las Vegas. While there, David covered several stories in the national spotlight, including the October 1 mass shooting and political visits from President Barack Obama and candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Twitter Facebook