State Fair-Goers Finding Ways To Beat The Heat

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (WCCO) -- Day 5 of the Great Minnesota Get-Together has been the hottest one yet with temperatures in the upper 80s and high humidity levels.

Both fair-goers and the workers in the food booths are doing everything possible to stay cool. One of the hottest places at the fair is in the corn roast booth, where temperatures soar into the triple digits.

Workers take breaks, and they turn on the hose to cool everyone down.

On easy way to stay cool: Find air conditioning like at the WCCO-TV booth. It is a nice escape from the heat after an uncomfortably humid day at the Minnesota State Fair.

When the sun beats down on the State Fair, one of the busiest attractions is an escape from the summer heat.

"They seem to have plenty of place to sit out here too now," said one fair-goer.

A close rival to the cool shade -- one of the 10 misting stations where the nearby air temperature drops 10 degrees. Yet sometimes even that isn't enough.

"It's a hot August day so a lot of people are dehydrated and not hydrating enough," St. Paul firefighter Thomas Hilpisch said.

Hilpisch is among the first responders stationed throughout the fair grounds.

"We've got ice packs so we can give those to people right away," Hilpisch said.

On an average day, medical staff will help 300 patients, though not all calls are heat-related. However, on a hot day, that number can rise to 500. About 30 to 40 will be more just simple heat exhaustion. Typically, five to six patients wind up at the hospital.

"We're usually able to get people into AC pretty quickly," Hilpisch said.

It is why health officials want fair-goers to hydrate early and often.

"I walk as little as possible, drink a lot of water and stay hydrated," one fair-goer said.

Yet even on the fair's hottest day, some prefer long sleeves to short.

"I was born and raised in Florida and it is hot there, 100 degrees, so I try to take care of my skin. I look 30 years old but I'm 80," Ron Wetheranton said.

Ron Wetheranton doesn't even feel the heat on a humid 80-degree day

"Once it gets wet with sweat, then it's like an insulator. It makes it cool," he said.

Not everyone at Minnesota's great get-together is sweating the rising temperatures.

"It's cool, it's cool. It's perfect weather," he said.