Minnesota Dairy Community Crowns 70th Princess Kay of the Milky Way
Emma Kuball (Coo-ball), a 19-year-old college student from Waterville, Minnesota, representing Rice County, was crowned the 70th Princess Kay of the Milky Way in an evening ceremony Aug. 23 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
Kuball will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for 1,850 Minnesota dairy farm families. She is the daughter of Nate and Shannon Kuball and attends the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Ten county dairy princesses from throughout Minnesota competed for the Princess Kay of the Milky Way title. Makenzie Alberts of Pine Island, representing Dodge County, and Megan Ratka (Rat-KEY) of Cold Spring, representing Stearns County, were selected as runners-up.
Alberts, Kuball and Ratka were also named scholarship winners. Gracie Ash of Milaca, representing Mille Lacs County, was named Miss Congeniality.
Throughout her year-long reign as Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Kuball 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 about the nutritional benefits of dairy and dairy farmers’ continual commitment to environmental sustainability.
Kuball’s first official duty as Princess Kay will be to sit in a rotating cooler in the Dairy Building (located at the corner of Judson Avenue and Underwood Street) to have her likeness sculpted in a 90-pound block of butter the first two days of the Minnesota State Fair – Thursday, Aug. 24, and Friday, Aug. 25. Minnesota artist and butter sculptor Gerry Kulzer will be carving Princess Kay and the finalists.
