This Morning I Watched the Opening of the Minnesota State Fair on TV

[MineralMan]

WCCO-TV covered it, as they always do. What was absolutely clear was that the people coming through the gates were almost all not wearing masks. Despite the Fair's strong recommendation that people mask up, I only saw one or two in the crowd wearing masks.

The State Fair Board did not impose a mask mandate for the Fair. That, despite many calls for such a mandate to be in place and enforced. It could have done so, but did not.

My recommendation: Do not attend this event. Simply stay home and stay safe. The Fair Board does not care about your health or the health of others. The Minnesota State Fair is a Super-Spreader event this year. Just say no and stay away!

[blugbox]

1. I'm glad you convinced your wife to not attend

I hope you persuade more than a few here as well. It's just too soon and too risky. Not nearly enough people taking it seriously, which is astounding at this point

[Rorey]

2. Ours in Colorado starts tomorrow - of course I am going......

...to skip it.

I actually forgot about it, but I guess I better do some early morning shopping tomorrow to get anything I'm going to need for the duration so I want have to be around the idiots.

[MineralMan]

4. I am glad, too, that she agreed,

along with the two friends she had planned to go with her.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

3. Skipping this too this year...Too many people .

Packed into small spaces and the exhibition halls. I see Grandstand acts pulling out as well. The Grandstand exhibits are crowded too. No thank you. I also read that the Metro buses are short drivers as well for the Park and Rides. Minneapolis has mask mandates for all Public transit use.

We attended the MN Renaissance Festival Sunday of opening weekend. Wore my mask much of the time, also to keep the dust out of my nose. Watched distances, washed my hands a lot, fistbumped instead of hugging.

Not overly crowded. We plan more outings there over the 7 week seaso, and will follow protocols to stay safe as well as enjoy ourselves.

[indigovalley]

7. More pull outs from fair

I am a teacher and two of the main things I like to see at the fair have pulled out: Education Minnesota and the Disability Council--both main attractions in the education building.

[indigovalley]

5. Breaks my heart

I am a Minnesotan and the State Fair is literally my most favorite thing in life. So it breaks my heart that I can't go this year. But there is just no way I can see attending with the wall to wall crowds and easy transmission of the Delta variant.

My sisters husband has a brother who is hell bent on going to the fair. He bought two tickets to go two days and is staying in a hotel in St. Paul. Nothing will convince him of the danger. Nothing. His brother is recovering from a stem cell transplant so my sister is forbidding him from being in physical contact with them for at least two weeks after he returns. Even the threat to his brother is not making him reconsider.

I just read that the fair organizers are recommending getting a COVID test 3 to 5 days after attending the fair in accordance with the recommendation by the Minnesota Department of Health's testing guidelines for large events. I doubt many fair goers will do that.

I wonder how many people will be taking children to the fair? Just makes me sick to think about it....

[MineralMan]

6. I'm sure many will take their children. It's a tradition here.

However, seeing the opening morning crowd all unmasked, with only a few exceptions, I foresee a big problem from this popular, very crowded event. I can't remember any time that I attended the Fair without being cheek to jowl with people in the crowds there. While that is part of the experience, this year, that's going to be a bad thing, for sure.

[indigovalley]

11. True on children attending...

But you'd think people might take some serious thought about doing that in regards to the amount of infections already seen in schools nationwide and the fact children are most vulnerable to the virus right now. Then again that would require some rational thinking and those attending the fair aren't thinking rationally...

Seeing what happened with Sturgis it seem pretty certain the state fair is not going to be a COVID neutral event... I wonder if a spike will happen before the end of the fair..

[Judi Lynn]

8. Fortunately, some of the unmasked wonders may well be wearing their little guns.

They will be able to shoot the feet of anyone who asks them why they didn't bother to wear their masks. Self defense!

[keithbvadu2]

29. They really want to carry their AR-15s.

They really want to carry their AR-15s.

[madaboutharry]

9. I love the Minnesota State Fair and have been so many times.

There was no way I would go now. Didn't go to the Iowa State Fair either, on news reports it looked like one person wore a mask.

I don't understand human behavior.

[niyad]

10. So glad that you and your wife are staying safe. You reminded me to check on two

of my favourite fall events, the Pueblo Chile and Frijole Festival, and the Holy Cross Abbey Winery Harvest Festival. The chile festival will be on with no restrictions, no mask mandate, no social distancing, no crowd limits. Expected attendance 100,000 plus. Sighhhhh. No Pueblo chilies for me. Damn, I will miss the rubber duck flotilla. The only concession the WInery is making is no kiddie events. No wine tasting for me. Both events the same weekend.

I HATE the covidiots.

[Harker]

12. We would've loved seeing you eat a corndog.

Oh, well.

[Roc2020]

13. Events like this is why Covid will stay hunting

millions have decided their enjoyment/2019 lifestyles Trumps (pun intended) the gamble of getting Covid. And that gamble will kill many.

[BlueWavePsych]

14. Another superspreader event full of deniers ...

[Peacetrain]

15. MM.. Hubby and I also decided to not attend our state fair.. and we are a 4-h

family.. it is just not worth the risk.. Next year..gives me another year to get ready for open competition in the food category .. using my time wisely..

[Monsieur_Grumpe]

16. Not going this year

The wife and like the MN State Fair but not this year. Hopefully next year. Same for the Ren Fest.

[Farmer-Rick]

17. The Greene county TN fair here drew over 36,000 people

Which is a huge turn out for this rural area.

While the fair was going on with not a masks in sight and probably with the majority of attendents unvaccinated, hospitals were filling up with Covid patients. We had more daily average cases when the fair started then when we had our short lockdown last year.

Now, our hospitals are full, there are no beds. There have been 1,023 new hospitalizations in Tennessee in the first 15 days of August, more than any other full month of the pandemic.

So it's going to get worse because all those county fair visitors spread it around. The people that caught it from the people who caught it from the fair visitors are just now getting sick. Our numbers are worse than in the first wave.

[MineralMan]

18. Yes, it's tragic.

Our state fair usually has a couple of million attendees, and they come in from Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, as well. One of the largest State Fairs in the country. I fear that this one will prove to be a big mistake.

[lindysalsagal]

19. NY state fair attendance is in record numbers.

No way in hell I'm going to anything with 40K-50K people!

[TygrBright]

20. I used to love the Great Minnesota Superspreader Event.... n/t

[IronLionZion]

21. They probably believe that being outdoors will protect them

Most of the liberals in the twin cities area would be vaccinated. I wouldn't go because I'm still avoiding large crowds.

[Mr. Evil]

22. We keep witnessing a phenomenon of human behavior.

It seems that people that go to events like this all seem to think they're special and won't get sick from Covid-19. As of now there have been 649,705 US deaths of other special people from Covid-19.

I guess I'll just never understand that cavalier attitude.

[MineralMan]

27. We're pretty good at denial, we humans.

Sometimes, we pay dearly for that flaw.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

23. MM, those deprived of going due to health concerns should.....

contact the Minnesota State Fair organization (ran by the Minnesota State Agricultural Society) at this link and complain:

Minnesota State Fair Contact: https://www.mnstatefair.org/contact/

Noticed during a related search, I see the Fair stopped recent efforts by gun humpers to carry weapons into this year's fair. Also, quality fairs like this one always place strict controls on food safety upon the local and traveling food vendors.

So, they're picky about gun and food safety but not so much with things related to a global pandemic.

Because there's a lot of big money to be made from these fairs, I suspect this will be a nationwide problem. Events like this along with high school and college football games and the upcoming holidays will make for a dangerous fall and winter.

I fear our healthcare systems can't withstand much more stress......

KY

[mnhtnbb]

24. The North Carolina State Fair is still scheduled Oct 14-24

It has attracted over 1 million attendees in the past, although in 2019 (canceled 2020) it was down to 938,000.

If our COVID numbers and hospitalizations don't come down, I wouldn't be surprised to see it canceled. NC is not in the dire shape of Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, or Texas, but the numbers just keep going up. And, of course, 90%+ of hospitalizations are the unvaxxed. Our blue counties have the best vax rates and lowest incidence of new cases, but schools have started and some county Boards of Education are not mandating masks.

[dsc]

40. Yep our county didn't at first

but we have three schools on the non traditional calendar, and during just a couple weeks of being open they already had 40 students sent home (the schools total maybe 1000). So our board decided to mandate. If the bill requiring a monthly vote becomes law, our mandate will all but certainly be removed before the quarter is over. I wouldn't go to the state fair this year under any circumstances.

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. It's sad - granted, one can hang out outside, and outside is safer...

but it seems awfully irresponsible.

[Marthe48]

26. The fair goers can discuss where to get ivermectin

I'm getting really good at spelling big words :/

[SoCalDavidS]

28. This Is Pretty Much The Norm Now Everywhere In America

It's not isolated to Minnesota State Fair.

The U.S. Open in NY is doing the same exact thing.

Money matters more than lives. Politics more important as well.

This is the country we are. Time to accept that.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

30. Agreed. I see about 5% masking most everywhere.

Those who are vaccinated are probably reasonably safe at the fair without a mask while outdoors. That said, you are right - a large number just dont care at the moment.

That said, office reopening that had been scheduled for 4Q is in some cases being punted to 2022.

At this point, conservative Americans can STFU about being pro-life and wanting to protect America. I've lost most empathy/sympathy for the unvaccinated adults at this point. If you are to stupid to get the vaccine, you've asked for what's coming. Kids are another subject.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

31. I read your previous post

Sounds like your wife and her friends were persuaded not to go, and came to that conclusion without being badgered. You married well MM.

I was in a similar situation late June of ‘20. My husband’s sister passed away after a long battle against brain cancer. His other sister and her family were going to stay at our place in Indianapolis overnight, our place is a good midpoint between Wisconsin (location of funeral) and their home in North Carolina. Family is/was always welcome to stay at our place. Husband’s sister and family have stayed here previously, they are delightful people and I always enjoyed having them stay.

This was the middle of the first COVID peak. Hubby and I sat at the kitchen table and had a long talk. The only thing I absolutely insisted on is that no one can stay at our house, I offered to pay for a motel room for them to stay. If he insisted on going to the funeral I would not/could not stop him from going. I did insist that he quarantine for 14 days after his return. I did not enjoy setting these strict parameters but COVID is real, especially for those who are HIV positive as my husband and I are.

It was about 2 days later that my husband told me he was not going to the funeral. I was relieved and deeply saddened at the same time. His family is very close and are very decent folks, I know it hurt him deeply not to attend. The service was limited to the number of people that could be present, we along with many others attended the service via FaceTime.

Damn COVID, and the anti-mask/anti-vax bastards that are keeping it in circulation and incubating variants.

[MineralMan]

34. This pandemic has required many sacrifices.

When my 96-year-old parents died in January of this year, I had to make the very difficult decision not to go to California. I managed everything from here in Minnesota, including administering their estate. There were no services, and they were buried in the only cemetery in their small town.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

37. I'm sorry for your loss

Is there any discussion of a simple service post COVID? Just wondering.

My sacrifices have been minor, work from home, missed vacations. So many others have lost jobs, homes, and their very lives due to this pandemic.

My father passed December 2019, before COVID. Every year about this time we would be returning from our fishing trip in Canada. We would leave the resort about 7:00 am Saturday, pass through Duluth around 4:00 pm. Nearing Duluth I could pick up NPR on the radio, and kept it tuned in until our stop in Eau Claire. More often than not we would hear the Prairie Home Companion broadcast from the Minnesota State Fair.

[SouthBayDem]

32. WHAT? Even in "liberal" Minnesota?? nt

[MineralMan]

36. Well, we have over 70% vaccinated,

but that leaves 30% who are not. At the Fair, the percentage of those vaccinated will be lower than 70%, no doubt, and we have many out of state visitors, as well.

[aggiesal]

33. If Sturgis is any indication of what might happen ...

I'd get out of Dodge as fast as possible.

[jlerollblues]

35. MIA leadership?

My governor gets mixed reviews, mostly unfavorable, at best on his overall response to the pandemic. I sometimes wonder if I am living in Minnesota or living to far north to get news from our mannequin governor.

I am a retired NASA scientist and have spent the last 20 months+ developing a pandemic model unlike any others. It basically predicts the covid infections/deaths at grid points a little larger than a city block over the globe It accounts for planes, trains, and automobiles, vaccines, masking and other mitigation strategies, and hospital stressors. It has been uncanny in its forecasts predicting last years December/January covid explosion over 6 moths before it happened. It also correctly modeled the current Delta outbreak. Well, the shit is about to hit the fan again. I don't put stock in the precision of the forecasts for exact location/date but the model predicted a vaccine jumping variant in February of 2022 that originates in Bangladesh. This is the first time this algorithm has spit out this information since I developed it over a year ago and I had literally forgot about it. The spread was so rapid and explosive the model could not reach closure after 2 months of the new variant outbreak and crashed with over 1 billion deaths.

Meanwhile, Minnesota is over 5000 new cases a day and people act like there is nothing going on. I feel like the emperor has no clothes wearing my mask into stores. I got my 3rd Pfizer yesterday in a weird way thanks to the cancer my medical team and I just whooped. Please get your booster and stay away from large gatherings. I have given up sending the governor any more input, never even had the courtesy (a staffer would have been fine) of a response. I imagine Dr. Osterholm has his own frustrations. My original recommendation was to Shelter at Home and mask mandates until a vaccine rolled out. But hell no, the $ rules and frankly people have lost a sense of "we are in it together" and prefer "I got mine, fuck you". The current situation was clearly avoidable, but hey, our 700 billionaires made 1.7 trillion during this pandemic. Cherish your Jeff Bezos trading card freaking idiots ...

[Blue Owl]

38. COVID on a stick

No thanks!

[dsc]

39. Our state fair, if it happens, will be in October

and to the extent our legislature and ag secretary have anything to say about it, there will be no masks.