Walz: Minnesota State Fair Will Be Back 'Pretty Close To Normal'

MINNESOTA — Gov. Tim Walz Friday said the Minnesota State Fair will be back to near-normal this August based on the state's COVID-19 vaccination rate.

"I think for us the touchstone place is State Fair. Everything looks to me on the horizon, and the way the vaccine is going and the way is the virus is responding, that should be a pretty close to normal event," Walz said at a Friday news conference.

The 2020 Minnesota State Fair was canceled by organizers over concerns of the coronavirus spread. "This isn't a difficult decision. It's the only decision," State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer said in announcing the cancelation last year.

"Your team of State Fair pros is working hard to come back bigger, better, stronger and smarter in '21.'"

The Great Minnesota "Get-Back-Together," as organizers dubbed it, is set for Aug. 26 through Sept. 6, 2021.

As of Friday, more than 2,530,000 people — or over 57 percent of the state — have had at least one dose of the vaccine. Health officials say the tipping point for herd immunity is getting at least 70 percent of Minnesotans fully vaccinated.