Besides corn dogs, talent shows and roller coasters, the 2006 Minnesota State Fair, Aug. 24 to Sept. 4, offered an opportunity for local equipment dealers to display their machines.

Booths and tents nestled on Machinery Hill featured everything from snow plows and dump trucks to wheel loaders and even a monster truck.

A highlight of the 12-day event was the opening of a new animal birthing facility and the FFA leadership complex.

The Miracle of Birth Center has always been the State Fair’s most popular attraction, pulling in more than 40,000 visitors in 2005.

The new $1.5 million center is three times larger and the first livestock facility built on the fairgrounds in more than 40 years, according to the Minnesota State Fair Foundation, which raised money for the new addition.

The CHS Miracle of Birth Center is named after CHS Inc., an energy, grains and food company that made a major contribution to the building’s construction fund.

“We have a long history of supporting the FFA and its role in creating leadership opportunities for youth,” said John Johnson, CHS president and chief executive officer. “The new Miracle of Birth and FFA Center will provide a great learning environment for animal agriculture, which is so important to the state’s economy.”

FFA ties to the State Fair date back to 1948.

“The Minnesota FFA Chapter House and Leadership Center will offer meeting and educational space for Minnesota’s 180 FFA Chapters and Team AgEd, which includes the Minnesota FFA Association and its approximately 9,000 members,” said Val Aarsvold, executive director of the Minnesota FFA Foundation.

“Agriculture and education are at the very heart of Minnesota and the State Fair,” said Steve Pooch, assistant manager of the State Fair. “Furthering youth leadership and agricultural education are a big part of what we do. This facility will combine functions, more than triple the size of the present complex and give more visitors the chance to see the animal birthing process.”

Today's top stories

Blalock Crews Build TDOT's $67M Newport Bypass

New Bridges Part of Iowa's $114M Madison Avenue Project

Eagle Bridge Co. Works On Final Leg of U.S. 35 Upgrade

SAKAI Achieves Record Sales, Production

Takeuchi Recognizes Top Dealers at 2024 Dealer Summit

Equip Expo's Summer Giveaway Offers a Chance for Lifetime Trade Show Registration, Gift Card, Hotel Stay

Tennessee's Pugmill Systems LLC Expands Its Product Offerings to Include Concrete Plants

ASCENDUM Machinery Opens New Savannah, Ga., Facility