Hugo resident begins her yearlong reign as Princess Kay

After 12 whirlwind days of milking demonstrations and butter carving, Princess Kay of the Milky Way fades from the minds of most Minnesotans until fair time rolls around again next August.

But the work is just starting for Katie Miron, 19, of Hugo, who was recently crowned the 57th Princess Kay.

Miron, the daughter of Hugo mayor Fran Miron, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, is the second Princess Kay to represent Washington County, and also the second Princess Kay in the Miron family.

Miron's sister, Ann Tauzell, was the 2007 Princess Kay. Miron's crowning is the second year in a row, and the second time in the competition's history, that a sister of a previous Princess Kay has won.

"Every dairy farmer's daughter dreams of wearing the crown one day, you just can't help yourself," Miron said. "But I think until Ann was crowned, they were just dreams."

Tauzell said sitting in the audience with the rest of their family during Miron's coronation was a special experience last month.

"I didn't really know how they had reacted when I was crowned," she said. "It was really fun for me to see the other side of the coronation, my family's excitement and pride and joy for Katie."

"Milking cows is 365 days a year, so that's what we did," Miron said.

Telling her story of growing up on the family farm will be one of Miron's main tasks throughout the year.

Sherry Newell, director of communications for the Midwest Dairy Association, said Princess Kay will make about a half-dozen appearances a month for the next year, ranging from classroom visits to community "Dairy Days" events.

The MDA treats Princess Kay's appearances as a part-time job, Newell said, so she earns a $75 per diem for each appearance and receives a $1,000 scholarship at the end of her reign.

Princess Kay must be employed on a dairy farm, or the daughter of a full-time dairy farm employee, Newell said. She must have graduated from high school, be younger than 24 years old and be unmarried.

Wherever she goes, Princess Kay "tells her story, the passion and pride that she has in being a dairy farmer," Newell said. Miron, who is studying agricultural education, like her sister, eldest brother, and father before her, said she is most excited to get into classrooms around the state.

The MDA is partnering with the Minnesota Vikings this year, Newell said, so Princess Kay will appear with Viktor the Viking and teach students where farm food comes from.

"If what they get out if it is dairy farmers are hardworking, and chocolate milk doesn't come from brown cows, then I'll feel like I've really done my job," Miron said.

The chocolate milk joke is common enough among dairy farmers, but Tauzell said she was surprised by the number of times she heard that question from school children.

"They're so far removed from the farm, that it's a totally foreign concept to a lot of people," she said. "The degree of misconceptions, I think, was maybe a little surprising to me. But it was even more of a motivator to do my job as Princess Kay, and do it well."