Rachel Rynda, a 19-year-old college student from Montgomery, Minn., representing Le Sueur County, was crowned the 69th Princess Kay of the Milky Way in an evening ceremony Aug. 24 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

Rynda will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for nearly 2,100 Minnesota dairy farm families. She is the daughter of Francis and Theresa Rynda and attends the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

10 candidates competed

Ten county dairy princesses from throughout Minnesota competed for the Princess Kay of the Milky Way title. Aly Dieball of Green Isle, representing Sibley County, and Kiley Lickfelt of Hutchinson, representing McLeod County, were selected as runners-up.

Briana Maus of Freeport, representing Stearns County, was named a scholarship winner — along with Lickfelt and Rynda. Rynda was also named Miss Congeniality.

Throughout her yearlong reign as Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Rynda will make public appearances to help connect consumers to Minnesota’s dairy farm families. She will work to bring dairy to life through conversations, classroom visits and various speaking engagements.

Rynda’s first official duty as Princess Kay was at the state fair Aug. 25-26, sitting in a rotating cooler in the Dairy Building for nearly eight hours to have her likeness sculpted in a 90-pound block of butter. This year is the first year for butter sculptor and Minnesota native Gerry Kulzer to be carving Princess Kay and the finalists in a solo capacity. Finalists who have had their likeness carved thus far are: Amber Post, Lake Wilson, representing Murray County; Aly Dieball, Green Isle, representing Sibley County; and Briana Maus, Freeport, representing Stearns County.

Remaining finalists to have their likenesses carved in butter are:

See candidates in Dairy Building, Dairy Barn

Throughout the fair, Princess Kay and the other finalists will make appearances near the Butter Sculpture Booth in the Dairy Building and at the Moo Booth in the Dairy Barn. Princess Kay’s Facebook page (facebook.com/princesskayofthemilkyway) will provide daily updates and photos of each completed butter sculpture.

Princess Kay candidates are judged on their general knowledge of the dairy industry, communication skills and enthusiasm for dairy. Midwest Dairy sponsors the Princess Kay program, which is funded by dairy farmers through their promotion checkoff.

Source: Midwest Dairy, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all of its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.