Each year, more than 100 young women from across Minnesota are crowned county dairy princesses, and 12 are selected as finalists to become Princess Kay of the Milky Way. After the coronation on the night before the Minnesota State Fair, Princess Kay and the other 11 finalists act as goodwill ambassadors for the dairy industry and the state’s dairy farmers.

Dairy princesses serve as spokespeople to consumers, conducting media interviews, making classroom visits to educate students about the dairy industry, giving speeches to various organizations and making public appearances at promotions or events. They’re selected on the basis of their communication skills, personality, general knowledge of the dairy industry and its products, and their commitment to dairy promotion.

This year’s Princess Kay of the Milky Way is Kristy Mussman, a student at the University of Minnesota majoring in applied economics with an emphasis in marketing and a minor in mass communications. Throughout her yearlong reign as Princess Kay, Kristy will be making public appearances to educate Minnesotans about dairy farmers’ commitment to providing wholesome milk and dairy products and caring for their animals and the land. She is the daughter of Mike and Julie Mussman of Claremont.

One of her first duties as Princess Kay will be to sit in a rotating, 38-degree cooler for nearly eight hours on the opening day of the 2008 Minnesota State Fair to have her likeness sculpted in a 90-pound block of butter. The tradition of carving princess finalists’ likenesses sculpted in butter began back in 1965, and sculptor extraordinaire Linda Christensen has been a part of the action almost since the beginning. This year will mark her 37th year creating butter sculptures for the Minnesota State Fair.