UNDATED – A young woman from Olmstead County will serve as this year’s goodwill ambassador for Minnesota’s nearly 3,000 dairy farm families.

Nineteen-year-old Brenna Connelly from Byron was crowned the 67th Princess Kay of the Milky Way Wednesday evening during a private banquet for the 10 candidates and their families. The event was live-streamed on the Princess Kay Facebook page.

Two Stearns County residents – 17-year-old Maggie Molitor of Rockville and 18-year-old Katherine Maus of Freeport – were recognized as two of the ten finalists for the honor. Molitor was one of two runners-up for the crown and took home the title of Miss Congeniality, voted on by her fellow finalists.

Other finalists include:

  • Emily Benrud representing Goodhue County
  • Mackenzie Craig representing Douglas County
  • Emma Friauf representing McLeod County
  • Taylor Jerde representing Dakota County
  • Maggie Meyer representing Meeker County
  • Valerie Sauder representing Dodge County
  • Rebeckah Schroeder representing Houston County

During her year as Princess Kay, Connelly will advocate for the dairy industry with a variety of public appearances and classroom visits throughout Minnesota.

As per tradition, each Princess Kay finalist will have her likeness carved into a block of butter. The butter sculpting process, a tradition that typically draws crowds at the now-canceled Minnesota State Fair, will instead be streamed live on Facebook in coming days.

Connelly will be sculpted first on Thursday. The last sculpture is scheduled to be created Aug. 22.

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