Waverly woman from a long line of dairy farmers crowned Princess Kay of the Milky Way

Malorie Thorson, who grew up on a dairy farm in rural Wright County, was crowned the 72nd Princess Kay of the Milky Way on Wednesday, the eve of the Minnesota State Fair.

Thorson, a 20-year-old dairy production student at South Dakota State University, comes from a long line of dairy farmers. Her family farm near Waverly was started in 1874 by her great-great-great-grandfather, Herman, who moved to Minnesota after the Civil War.

She plans to return to the farm one day to lead its sixth generation.

“It’s my home and I’ll call it home the rest of my life,” Thorson said on stage, before her coronation.

An estimated 1,000 people attended Wednesday’s event and more than 1,200 watched online, as the sun set behind the Bandshell on the fairgrounds. Some in the crowd wore matching T-shirts of different colors to signal support for their finalist of choice.

The 10 finalists took turns describing their “dairy story,” many of which involved anecdotes about barn chores with their families and their love for cheese curds, chocolate milk and yogurt.

Thorson succeeds Rachel Visser, a 20-year-old University of Minnesota student from Hutchinson as princess of the dairy realm. When Visser crowned Thorson on Wednesday, Thorson fell to her knees and clapped her hands over her mouth.

As Princess Kay, Thorson will serve as a goodwill ambassador for the Minnesota dairy community for the next year, representing dairy farmers in public appearances and classroom visits. Visser said she traveled 8,000 miles for 86 events in the last year and met with more than 3,000 students.

A princess has been crowned every year since 1954, even in 2020 when the fair was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finalists are selected based on communication skills, personality and general knowledge of the dairy community and industry.

Thorson will spend part of her first two days at the fair sitting in a glass refrigerator for the traditional sculpting of her likeness using a 90-pound block of Grade AA butter, done by the artist Gerry Kulzer. It’s an hourslong process that fairgoers can witness at the Dairy Building. Butter sculptures have been featured at the fair since 1898 to promote Minnesota’s claim as a top butter producer.