Cunningham toured the fairgrounds with Otter Tail County Commissioner Dan Bucholz, University of Minnesota Extension staff, and 4-H Youth Ambassador Lucy Minten, stopping through food vendors and 4-H exhibit areas before presenting the Farm Family of the Year award to Dennis and Melissa Fronning.
"It was an honor to welcome President Cunningham to our fair and to Otter Tail County," Bucholz said. "As a dairy farmer myself, I know how much the University's research and Extension programs mean to farm families here."
The visit doubled as a stop on the university's 175th-anniversary tour, with Cunningham posing for photos alongside county commissioners and the fair's Otter mascot, giving media interviews, and holding a meet-and-greet at the university's booth. The university has been setting up booths at fairs around the state through the summer to mark the milestone.
The East Otter Tail County Fair runs through July 26 at the fairgrounds in Perham, with 4-H and FFA exhibits, livestock shows, a talent contest and a beer garden rounding out the four-day event.
Cunningham became the university's 18th president on July 1, 2024, arriving from the University of Michigan, where she served as vice president for research and innovation. She's a public health researcher who still holds a faculty appointment in the School of Public Health.