FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Lunch trays rolled out of the second-floor cafeteria of the Minnesota State Fair’s 4-H Building on Sept. 3 as youth upstairs stripped bunks and hoisted duffel bags, marking some of the final nights before the Minnesota 4-H building renovation begins.
Minnesota 4-H and the Minnesota State Fair are partnering on a $35 million overhaul of the 85-year-old structure that has housed 4-H members during fair week since the late 1930s. University of Minnesota Extension campaign materials report $23,540,978 raised to date. Of the total plan, $28 million is designated for the building, $2 million for a maintenance endowment and $5 million to support 4-H educators and staff who will operate programs in the space year-round.
The exterior saw changes this year. According to the Minnesota State Fair, crews installed new windows, completed exterior repairs and repainting, and will start work on all three interior floors as soon as the fair concludes.
The youth and chaperones who sleep in the dorms have a long list of fixes in mind.
‘This building definitely needs an upgrade’
Lisa Dierks, southeast regional director for University of Minnesota Extension, said the updates go well beyond the bunk rooms. She noted peeling paint and aging beds, adding that the project aims to refresh the entire facility as new members enter the program. Counties in her region can choose to house participants at the 4-H Building or on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus during livestock encampment, and several intentionally chose the historic building this year to be among the last to stay before construction.
She expects similar enthusiasm next year from counties hoping to be first through the doors when the work is finished.
Josie Schaffran, a Douglas County member from the Moses-Aaron 4-H Club, will be a sophomore this fall and has stayed in the dorms four times during roughly a decade in 4-H. She has shown dogs, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens and horses, and this year brought a pen drawing of a Highland cow that took about 20 hours and earned a blue ribbon.
Her arrival routine starts with a long walk from the bus drop-off, finding her bunk, unpacking and then roaming the fairgrounds with her siblings. Lights go out around 11 p.m., she said, though conversations often stretch later. If she could change things, the walls and plumbing would top her list, especially inconsistent shower pressure.
Katy Berning, a junior from the Four Leaves 4-H club in Sherburne County, stayed in the dorms for the first time this year for two nights and exhibited a photography project mounted on wood with a flower set into a crack. A state 4-H ambassador and fourth-generation member, she said her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents all stayed in the building, and a great-uncle is in the National 4-H Hall of Fame. Family advice was practical, including packing extra towels and hygiene items due to the heat. She said the stay was good and that next year should be even better.
Her mother, Kristen Berning, first stayed in the building more than 30 years ago. She served as a state 4-H secretary for two years when the program had state officers, then as the state ambassador advisor, spending at least a decade in the building daily during the fair. She said the structure, jokingly dubbed the “4-H Hilton,” shows its age, pointing to buckets on stairways, peeling paint and a lack of privacy.
Minnesota 4-H building renovation adds new learning spaces
Plans call for new stages for performing arts, public speaking and demonstrations, along with updated areas for STEM, entrepreneurship, agricultural education and judging. A teaching kitchen, a media studio and flexible workshop space are also included. Dierks said the dedicated kitchen will support existing food and nutrition programs and help expand offerings for youth during the fair and throughout the year.
The emphasis on entrepreneurship and agricultural education echoes broader efforts to support young producers facing barriers such as land access and capital, similar to challenges explored in Land access hurdles slow rise of next-gen cattle producers.