FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) – The Minnesota State Fair recorded its lowest first Mondays, when heat and storms kept people at home.
Monday’s reported attendance at the fair reached just 80,546 visitors.
What happened?
The weather was probably the biggest contributor to people staying at home on Monday. The morning and early afternoon were hot with heat index temperatures in excess of 100 degrees. Then, heavy storms swept through the subway in the evening, flooding the fairgrounds.
The few people who were at the fair were forced to run for cover under the stand.
The storms too forced a late start for the fair on Tuesday, as crews assessed the damage in the early morning hours.
Context
Monday’s total is among the worst attended non-opening days for the fair since the mid-1980s.
-
It was the worst first Monday for the fair since 1983.
-
The single worst non-opening day attendance since 1986 was the first Friday of 2021, when concerns about covid were still high.
-
The average visit to the fair on the first Monday since 2000 is 122,408 people.
-
Sunday was also a slow day at the fair, with heat likely playing a role.
-
The fair set back-to-back records to start in 2024, with high attendance on both the opening day and the first Friday.