We found out how they make deep-fried ranch 👀

Plus: Are we getting snow this winter? [Plus: Are we getting snow this winter?] View this email as a [web page]( [The Minnesota Star Tribune](   [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! Scroll to the green box to find out how to meet up with the newsletter team at the State Fair 🎡 On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [Walz joins Kamala Harris for ‘Freedom Rally’ at Milwaukee site of RNC]( - [Woodbury wants to expand its fire department, but applicants are in short supply]( - [After a year of declines, Target sales are finally showing a turnaround]( - [Meet Minnesota’s hot dish ambassador – and it’s not Tim Walz]( - [Lynx have a request for MVP candidate Napheesa Collier: Shoot more](   Slow down when you bite into that deep-fried ranch or you'll burn your mouth Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune When the Minnesota State Fair presented its list of 33 new foods for the year, we all knew which concoction would take the state by storm: Deep-fried ranch. It's the perfect Minnesotan — and, let's be honest, totally Midwestern — creation. But how exactly do you make it? And what does it feel like to bite into a piece? I told my editor that I could only imagine that it would be like chomping down on a mozzarella stick, except that instead of cheese, the innards would be gelatinated ranch dressing. My, how wrong I was. As Sharyn Jackson reports, you'll want to nibble around the edges of the snack carefully, just as you would a Juicy Lucy. Otherwise you run the risk of flooding your mouth with molten ranch. Charlie and Max Burrows, the father-and-son duo behind LuLu's Public House, figured out a way to freeze the dressing so they can deep-fry it and serve it up to adventurous fairgoers. How did this deep-fried amalgamation come to be? Charlie Burrows knows you're going to make a beeline for your favorite foods once you get to the fair — your Pronto Pups, pickle pizza and Sweet Martha's Cookies. He wants to fill that little spot left in your belly. “We’re fighting for that real estate," Burrows said. Read up on the process behind this deep-fried delicacy, plus the new foods you can expect at the State Fair this year, at the links below. Related coverage - [How they make deep-fried ranch dressing, the most Minnesotan of new State Fair foods]( - [Minnesota State Fair unveils the 33 new foods for 2024](     GOING OUT - [Tickets go on sale this week for Savion Glover, Leon Bridges and Ron Pope]( - [The Big Gigs: 10 best concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week]( - [Mini Donut Beer maker Lift Bridge has become the Minnesota State Fair’s most avid brewery](   [Share this newsletter with friends]( Do you enjoy Essential Minnesota? Encourage your friends and family to [sign up](. You also can share it using the links below.   The Farmers Almanac says it'll be a cold and wet winter I think it's safe to say that last winter was a total wash. The warm and dry season made the usual outdoor winter recreation all but impossible throughout the state. The Farmers' Almanac offers us a shred of hope: This coming winter may be colder and wetter. Of course, the odds of the publication's prediction coming to fruition are a toss-up. Tim Harlow has the [details about the forecast here](. Angelina Katsanis/ The Minnesota Star Tribune MORE FROM THE STAR TRIBUNE - Hennepin Board approves big raises for county attorney and sheriff, smaller boost for themselves]( - [Ex-Minneapolis officer Thomas Lane, convicted in George Floyd’s killing, is released from prison]( - [Ramstad: In Tower, Minn., a vision to quickly build sustainable homes turns real]( HAPPY STATE FAIR EVE Aaron Lavinksy/The Minnesota Star Tribune It's the most wonderful time of the year. That's right: State Fair season is upon us. And this year promises its share of magic and whimsy, from new foods like waffle sticks and the aforementioned deep-fried ranch to the usual smattering of rides and exhibits. We'll bring you the best from each day of the Great Minnesota Get-Together. The Essential Minnesota team will also be on hand at the Star Tribune stage tomorrow at 1 p.m. We'll talk about our plans for the first weekend at the fair, place bets on which of us will win a race to the fairgrounds on Friday and answer your questions. (That's why I biked to Falcon Heights on Monday.) What do you want to know? What stories do you think we should pursue while we're out here? Let us know: essential@startribune.com. The Minnesota Star Tribune has also launched a newsletter just for this year's festivities: Essential State Fair. [Sign up for the newsletter here](. IN OTHER NEWS - [St. Paul on the hook for $1.8 million electric fire truck after federal funding fell through]( - Minnesota Reformer - [Muslim community ‘shaken’ after elder is shot outside north Minneapolis mosque]( - Sahan Journal - [Activist Arnold Dahl-Wooley advocates, educates about the two-spirit community in rural Minnesota]( - MPR News     THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE @goingwrng12 via X Minnesotans sure love their crop art. No wonder the 2023 edition of the Star Tribune's State Fair lip balm was scented like the stuff. I can't wait to browse the walls at the Ag-Hort building and check out the latest works. Thankfully, X user @goingwrong12 gave us a sneak peek at a few of this year's contributions. I'm particularly fond of the one depicting the facade of Matt's Bar — I have a friend coming into town this weekend who's intent on carefully nibbling away at a Jucy Lucy. Thanks for reading Eder Campuzano, reporter David Taintor, editor     [Premium digital access] GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO EVERY STORY [Premium digital access] GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO EVERY STORY [Subscribe]( SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER [Email]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Manage email preferences]( • [Subscribe to Star Tribune]( • [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Manage]( your preferences | [Opt Out]( using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? [Sign up]( to receive our future emails. View this email [online](. 650 3rd Ave. S. Suite 1300 | Minneapolis, MN 55488 US This email was sent to {EMAIL}. To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.