KARE 11 is setting up shop again at the Minnesota State Fair, and this year's barn schedule near the intersection of Judson Avenue and Nelson Street is stacked with live newscasts, free water stations, trivia contests and a reunion of Twin Cities broadcasting legends. The station's barn will run daily from Thursday, Aug. 27 through the fair's close on Labor Day, Sept. 7, offering fairgoers a mix of news, music and nostalgia amid the Great Minnesota Get-Together's 12-day run.
The fair itself remains one of the state's biggest annual draws. According to the Minnesota State Fair, the 2026 event runs 12 days at the fairgrounds in Falcon Heights, and last year's fair pulled in 1,940,869 visitors over its run, the fifth-highest attendance total in state history, according to MPR News. That figure still trails the all-time record of 2,126,551 set in 2019, but it underscores just how many people are likely to pass by the KARE 11 Barn's daily lineup of activities, which the station says includes live newscasts, live music, free water and other attractions, according to KARE 11.
Newscasts, Podcasts and a Prize Wheel Anchor the Daily Grind
Every day of the fair, KARE 11 plans to broadcast its noon, 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts live from the barn, with KARE 11 Saturday airing at 8 a.m. on the two Saturdays that fall within the run, Aug. 29 and Sept. 5, per the station's report. The Off-Air with Jason & Alicia podcast is scheduled to record live from the barn at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 27, Aug. 28, Aug. 31, Sept. 3 and Sept. 4. Fairgoers can also spin the prize wheel, snap photos at the anchor desk, pick up 2026 designs at the penny press, and fill water bottles for free throughout the fair's run.
Trivia fans have several chances to test their fair knowledge. Fair Questions Trivia is set for 10 a.m. on Aug. 31 and Sept. 3 with hosts Alicia Lewis and Jason Hackett, on Sept. 1 with Jason Hackett alone, on Sept. 4 with Lewis and Hackett again, and on Sept. 2 in partnership with the Freshwater Society of Minnesota. Window Concepts is also presenting free water bottle giveaways at the barn at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on multiple days spread across the fair's opening weekend and beyond, per the KARE 11 schedule.
Broadcast Hall of Famers Mark a 25th Anniversary
The barn's most historically weighty event lands on Aug. 31, when Connecting Conversations brings together broadcast Hall of Famers Diana Pierce, Tim Russell and Dave Ryan at 2 p.m. to mark the 25th anniversary of the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame, according to event documentation published by the Pavek Museum. Pierce is a former longtime KARE 11 anchor, while Ryan and Russell are veteran Twin Cities radio figures, and the panel is presented alongside the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting. That St. Louis Park institution was established in 1988 around the private collection of instructor Joe Pavek and now houses more than 12,000 square feet of vintage radio, television and audio broadcasting equipment, according to the museum's own records.
Also on Sept. 1, Voices of Minnesota, hosted by Sheletta Brundidge, takes the barn stage at 2 p.m. to feature people impacted by events in Minnesota during 2026, per the station's schedule. And for those who like a physical souvenir, the Freshwater Society window at the barn is selling the 2027 Minnesota Weatherguide Environment Calendar and Almanac, which the Freshwater Society describes as the publication's 51st edition, combining regional meteorology, phenology, astronomy and new Ojibwe cultural perspectives.
Live Music and Comedy Round Out the Lineup
The Window Concepts Music Stage at the barn features a rotating cast of local performers throughout the run, including the Demitrious Rallis Band and a water bottle giveaway on Aug. 27, the Handsome Traveler on Aug. 28, Nick Elstad and Dad Bod on Aug. 29 and Aug. 30 respectively, Squinny on Sept. 4, Anna Devine on Sept. 5, and Maddie Theis closing things out on Sept. 6. Pat Keen's Bug Band is booked for 2 p.m. on Sept. 3, the same day the barn hosts sketch troupe Brave New Workshop at 11 a.m.
Brave New Workshop carries its own heritage into the barn. The troupe was founded in 1958 by circus aerialist Dudley Riggs and is recognized as the nation's oldest continuously operating satirical comedy theater, according to Hennepin Arts historical records, with alumni including Al Franken, Louie Anderson and Lizz Winstead.
A Seasonal Outpost for a Station With a Long Local History
The fair barn is a temporary satellite for a station whose roots run deep in the Twin Cities. Channel 11 first went on the air on Sept. 1, 1953, as WTCN-TV, briefly became WUSA in 1985, and officially switched to its current KARE call sign on June 11, 1986, according to the station's own history. KARE 11's main studio complex has been based on Highway 55 in Golden Valley since 1974, though the station was forced to temporarily evacuate that facility in July 2025 after a major electrical transformer fire, broadcasting remotely from Shoreview and Atlanta before returning to its local newsroom.
For fairgoers planning a visit, standard at-gate adult general admission for the 2026 fair is priced at $20, with senior admission at $18, according to Twin Cities Family, matching last year's price points. The KARE 11 Barn's full run of newscasts, trivia, music and the broadcasting anniversary panel gives visitors plenty of reasons to swing by near Judson Avenue and Nelson Street before the fair wraps up on Labor Day.
