Bungee jumping and barrels of butter: Notable Minnesotans share their favorite State Fair memories

We asked some notable Minnesotans to share their favorite State Fair memories. Here's what they said:

"I had five brothers, and my dad used to run a rope through all our belt loops to keep us from running off. The youngest ones just got dragged through the dirt." — Jeff Passolt, Fox 9 news anchor

"It was two days before I was going to go to college, and I was eating a chocolate-covered frozen banana on a stick. And I chipped my tooth! So I had to go to the dentist and get it fixed before I went to college." — U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar

"The neighborhood kids used to sneak in over the barbed-wire fence. I was in eighth grade. Climbing over the fence, the wire strand broke, and it took my pants off." — "Zoo Bob" Duerr, retired Como Park zookeeper and host of "Bob's Snake Zoo" at the fair for 52 years

"I am proud of how much and how often I can eat at the fair, but one year I was standing in line for corn on the cob and the man in front of me asked for extra butter. Extra butter! They had already dipped the corn in a barrel of melted butter! He was in a whole other league. I never knew his name but he is a Minnesota State Fair rock star." — Melissa Peterman, actress, star of TV's "Reba" and "Baby Daddy"

"When my kids were young, they were in this kind of jumping game at the fair. I was standing there next to another dad, and he said, 'I really love this game. They come out really tired.' " — Walter Mondale, former U.S. vice president, senator and ambassador to Japan

"I used to go to the State Fair every year — it was pretty awesome. Spending a bunch of time in the penny arcade, going to the Midway, try to see what stuffed animals we could win. Obviously the yellow slide. Corn on the cob, one of my favorites. A lot of memories. It's fun to take my girls now and show them all the things I grew up as a kid doing." — Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins first baseman

"For the two months leading up to the State Fair, I would ride my bike to Wold-Chamberlain airport and look for money in the pay telephones. I would divide it between baseball cards and the State Fair." — Dave Mona, WCCO Radio host (who will broadcast from the fair with the Star Tribune's Sid Hartman for the 36th straight year)

"My favorite memory of the State Fair was bungee jumping with my sons. The next year, it was canceled, I was told, because they could not get the liability insurance." — Gov. Mark Dayton

JOHN REINAN