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Military Appreciation Day At The MN State Fair

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (WCCO) -- It's Military Appreciation Day out at the Minnesota State Fair. Gov. Mark Dayton made an appearance a little while ago at the Carousel Park stage to recognize recently returned service members from all branches of the military and their families.

He welcomed them to the fair grounds. Military members and their families receive discounts today. They get in for $7, with appropriate documentation.

Plus, there are several ways people are saying "thank you."

The day kicked off with the raising of the flag at the Veterans Garden near the Ag Building. The ceremony has become a tradition.

The fair recognized Minnesota's men and women who've served in past wars.

They're asking everyone who visits to sign a big 16-foot-by-48-foot thank you card. It will eventually be sent to a group of troops in Afghanistan.

Since they're trying to break a Guiness World Record, they're keeping track of everyone who's signing the card. The Minn. National Guard will try to collect 257,000 signitures.

That number was picked because it's going to the 257th MP company that's working at a jail in Afghanistan. The troops working on it today, can't wait to send it over.

You can sign the card until about 5 p.m. this evening. And in order to get all 257,000 signatures, the card will travel to Target Center for the Lynx game on Friday and then look for it at the Vikings-Lions game in November.

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