FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) – The Minnesota State Fair recorded its lowest first Mondays, as heat and storms kept people home.

Monday’s reported attendance for the fair reached just 80,546 visitors.

What happened?

The weather was likely the major contributing factor keeping people home on Monday. The morning and early afternoon were hot with heat index temperatures pushing over 100 degrees. Then, severe storms swept through the metro in the evening, flooding the fairgrounds.

The few people who were at the fair were forced to run for cover underneath the grandstand.

The storms also forced a late start for the fair on Tuesday, as crews assessed damage in the early morning hours.

Context

Monday’s total is among the worst-attended non-opening days for the fair since the mid-1980s.

• It was the worst first Monday for the fair since 1983.
• The only worst non-opening day attendance since 1986 was the first Friday in 2021, when COVID concerns were still high.
• The average fair attendance for the first Monday since 2000 is 122,408 people.
• Sunday was also a slow day at the fair, with heat likely playing a role.
• The fair set back-to-back records to start in 2024, with high attendance on both opening day and the first Friday.