Owatonna Native Crowned the 73rd Princess Kay of the Milky Way

Back in May we learned about the finalists for the 73rd Princess Kay of the Milky Way. One of the finalists was Jena Hanson from Owatonna and... she was just crowned the winner!

What is Princess Kay of the Milky Way

Princess Kay of the Milky Way is an annual competition for young women in Minnesota who are age 18-24. They must have a direct and active connection to the dairy industry.

Candidates have to have won their county's Dairy Princess competitions earlier this year. Then, in May, they gathered in Minneapolis to compete for a finalist position.

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To compete to be a finalist, they had to submit an application, participate in a professional interview, prepare and deliver a speech, and participate in a mock media interview.

Throughout the weekend, they also got to network and be a part of leadership workshops. At the end, 10 were selected as finalists, one of them being Jena, and on Wednesday, the day before the fair, the winner was crowned.

Owatonna Native Jena Hanson Crowned Princess Kay of the Milky Way

When the announcement video was shared on of the 2026 finalists on the Princess Kay Facebook page, the 2025 Princess Kay, Malorie, said that Jena loves to snowboard and fish. She's worked for dairy farmers in the Steele County area and is currently working on her Bachelor's in Dairy Management at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.

As our newest Princess Kay, Jena will serve as an ambassador for the dairy industry over the next year. And yes, she will get her head carved out of butter during the state fair. Jena is being carved first, with sculpting taking place in the Dairy Building on day one and two of the fair.