I swear every year I spend a little more time at the Minnesota State Fair.

It’s a fun addiction! This year, besides the first two days, when we review all the new food and beverages, I went to the Atmosphere concert on Saturday and sneaked back for a quick dinner and Arrested Development at the Bandshell.

This year, I decided to focus on Fair classics that I’ve never tasted and under-the-radar foods suggested by readers — with the exception of the pickle pizza from Rick’s Pizza, because the ever-popular stand has added another location this year, and there was virtually no line!

And bonus, Jared Kaufman tried an “unofficial” new food that he said was worth noting.

Jalapeno Cheese on a Stick at Fresh Lemonade – Cheese on a Stick, $8

West side of Nelson St. between Dan Patch and Carnes avenues

If you can believe it, I had never tried this State Fair staple before this week. I enjoyed the slightly sweet breading and oozy cheese, but wanted more spice. Although that wish is what fellow reporter Jared Kaufman calls a “classic Jess” wish. I do like it spicy! 8/10, would definitely eat it again.

Onion Rings at Danielson & Daughters, $9

Onion Rings at Danielson & Daughters at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Between Underwood and Cooper streets, outside south side of the Food Building

These lightly breaded rings don’t look like much — in fact, before I dug in, I predicted they’d be overly greasy. But I was totally wrong. Crisp, oniony deliciousness, and bonus: There’s a coupon for $3 off in this year’s Blue Ribbon Book! 8/10, would eat again, though the portion is pretty small for the price without the coupon.

Wild Rice Burger at Wild Rice Specialties, $10

The Wild Rice Burger at Wild Rice Specialties at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

In the Food Building, northeast section

I’ve been hearing about this burger for years and finally got around to trying it. Though the bun looks too big and dry, I’m here to tell you that this is one juicy, flavorful burger. (It’s not vegetarian; it’s beef and wild rice.) The rice gives it a slightly nutty flavor and makes it a bit lighter than a regular burger. 7/10, will eat again.

Messy Giuseppe at Mancini’s al Fresco, $10

The Messy Giuseppe at Mancini’s al Fresco at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

North side of Carnes Avenue between Nelson and Underwood streets

A reader suggested I try this Italian version of a sloppy joe, and what a suggestion! I don’t know that my husband will go to the Fair without ordering one again. The focaccia bun is slathered with garlic butter and toasted, and the messy filling is basically meat and a bright, tasty marinara. 9/10, will probably eat every year from now on.

Chocolate-Covered Nut Roll on a Stick at Fresh Made Nut Rolls, $9

A Chocolate-Covered Nut Roll at Fresh Made Nut Rolls at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Northeast corner of Dan Patch Avenue Underwood Street

Although this impossible-to-photograph version of the ever-popular Salted Nut Roll isn’t much to look at, the peanuts, nougat, caramel and dark chocolate are a perfect combo. My only complaint is that $9 is pretty steep for a smallish candy bar. 7/10, would eat if someone else paid for it.

Pork Chop on a Stick at Peterson’s Pork Chops, $13

The Pork Chop on a Stick at Peterson’s Pork Chops at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

South side of Judson Avenue between Nelson and Underwood streets

I have spent 14 years walking past this stand, which is perched just beyond the media parking lot, without ordering a pork chop. That ended this week, and I have few regrets. Salty, meaty, grill-kissed goodness, though there was a little too much char on one half of it for me. Still, this thing is popular for a reason. 8/10, will eat again.

Grilled Peach with Honey-Herb Goat Cheese at The Produce Exchange, $8

The Grilled Peach with Herbed Goat Cheese and Honey at The Produce Exchange at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Northwest corner of Carnes Avenue and Underwood Street

I cannot believe it took me this long to try this simple, gorgeous dish of summer. A peach, grilled to perfection, paired with an herb-infused goat cheese and drizzled with honey. I love a good sweet/salty pairing, and in-season peaches are one of life’s greatest pleasures. 10/10, will probably have another one when I go back later this week.

Pickle Pizza at Rick’s Pizza, $9

Pickle Pizza at Rick’s Pizza at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Two locations: West side of Cosgrove Street between Wright and Dan Patch avenues and west side of Cooper Street between Murphy and Lee avenues

OK, I have had the pickle pizza before and I have loved it. But I haven’t returned for a few years, because it’s my fervent belief that no Fair food is worth a line longer than 20 minutes, and the lines had been ridiculously long. But this year, Rick’s wisely added a second location, and there was virtually no line on Sunday evening. So I couldn’t resist this floppy-crewy-crusted, extra cheesy, pickle-y deliciousness. If you, too, had avoided it because of the line, this is your year! 10/10, will eat every time there’s a short line.

Dan Patch Dip at Hamline Church Dining Hall, $11

Dan Patch Dip is held up in front of the Hamline Church Dining Hall on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Aug. 24, 2025. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

North side of Dan Patch Ave. between Underwood & Cooper streets

This year’s new offering at the oldest Fairgrounds restaurant didn’t make the “Official New Foods” list, but we wanted to try it anyway. The creamy corn dip itself is quite flavorful, and the pineapple-and-onion slaw on top gives it a tangy, punchy freshness. This is a little pricey, but it’s a perfect reprieve from heavy fried fare.

— Jared Kaufman

Related Articles

Matcha madness leaves Japan’s tea ceremony pros skeptical

So much fruit, so little beer-flavored beer. The Minnesota State Fair’s 2025 new beverages, reviewed

How 17 Minnesota third graders made blueberry the state muffin

The good, the bad and the questionable: The 2025 new Minnesota State Fair foods, ranked

Gretchen’s table: Bucatini with burst cherry tomatoes and fried caper crumbs offers ample flavor

By WILL WEISSERT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday marked the fourth anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the chaotic withdrawal at the end of the Afghanistan War by signing a proclamation honoring the fallen.

Related Articles

New top admiral takes over the US Navy amid military firings

Maine clinics denied Medicaid funds during lawsuit after Trump cuts to abortion providers

House committee subpoenas Epstein’s estate for documents, including birthday book and contacts

What to know about cashless bail after Trump’s executive order

Trump moves to ban flag burning despite Supreme Court ruling that Constitution allows it

Surrounded by about 35 family members of those killed, including one wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap, Trump used the somber occasion to decry his predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden, for allowing the attack to happen.

Tuesday is the anniversary of the bombing that also killed more than 100 Afghans at Abbey Gate outside the Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021. Trump called it “one of the dumbest days in the history of our country by the previous administration.”

“That was a terrible day,” Trump said. “And I think it was the worst day, and in many ways the most embarrassing day, in the history of our country.”

Biden’s White House was following a withdrawal commitment and timeline that the Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban in 2020. A 2022 review by a government-appointed special investigator concluded decisions made by both Trump and Biden were the key factors leading to the rapid collapse of Afghanistan’s military and the Taliban takeover.

Trump made the suicide bombing and Biden’s handling of it a frequent topic as he campaigned for president. The relatives of some of the U.S. service members killed also appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention in July 2024.

On the third anniversary of the attack, Trump was invited by family members of some suicide bombing victims to Arlington National Cemetery’s Section 60, a hallowed section where U.S. forces killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried.

That became a flashpoint after a staffer from Trump’s campaign reportedly shoved a cemetery employee who was trying to prevent the photographing of a ceremony honoring the service members killed in the Afghanistan War withdrawal. Federal law prohibits campaign or election-related activities within Army national military cemeteries.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, speaks alongside family members of soldiers killed in Afghanistan at the attack at Abbey Gate, during an event where President Donald Trump signs a proclamation honoring the fourth anniversary of the attack, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

In a statement marking the third anniversary of the attack, Biden called the 13 Americans who died “patriots in the highest sense” who “embodied the very best of who we are as a nation: brave, committed, selfless.”

“Ever since I became Vice President, I carried a card with me every day that listed the exact number of American service members who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan — including Taylor, Johanny, Nicole, Hunter, Daegan, Humberto, David, Jared, Rylee, Dylan, Kareem, Maxton, and Ryan,” Biden said in a statement in August 2024.

Also on hand for Monday’s proclamation signing were Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, who told victims’ relatives that Trump’s action was “a rectification of a wrong” because Biden “lost your loved ones through incompetence” and his government “never actually put pen to paper to say we’re grateful for your sacrifice.”

Trump has ordered a new Defense Department review of what occurred during the withdrawal of U.S. forces, and Hegseth said he expected that to be complete by the middle of next year.

“The military needs to answer for what happened in Afghanistan,” Hegseth said.

By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Adm. Daryl Caudle took over as the Navy’s highest-ranking officer Monday, ending a six-month vacancy created by the Trump administration’s firing of his predecessor.

Related Articles

Maine clinics denied Medicaid funds during lawsuit after Trump cuts to abortion providers

House committee subpoenas Epstein’s estate for documents, including birthday book and contacts

What to know about cashless bail after Trump’s executive order

Trump moves to ban flag burning despite Supreme Court ruling that Constitution allows it

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine strategy risks forcing shots off market, manufacturers warn

Caudle became chief of naval operations as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ousted a growing list of military leaders with little or no explanation. Remarks at a swearing-in ceremony at Washington Navy Yard offered several nods to the admiral being in close alignment with the Trump administration leaders above him.

In February, Hegseth fired Caudle’s predecessor, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, without explanation. Neither Caudle nor Navy Secretary John Phelan addressed the ouster at the ceremony Monday, though Franchetti was among several former chiefs of naval operations in attendance.

Franchetti had been the second woman ever to be promoted to four-star admiral and is among several female military leaders fired by the Trump administration. She was ousted the same day as Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Phelan, the Navy’s civilian leader, described the sea service as rife with issues like “decaying shipyards, inadequate maintenance, enormous cost overruns (and) delayed delivery and repair rates” and unspecified traditions that were stifling innovation.

“Admiral Caudle, together we must rebuild, reform and refocus on what matters — readiness, accountability and results — in order to execute President Trump’s mandate of peace through strength,” Phelan said.

Caudle was unequivocal in his agreement with the often-repeated Trump administration phrase, saying, “Peace through strength works.”

The admiral, who until the promotion was commanding U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said he wanted to be “judged by the results we achieved.”

Specifically, he cited the number of ships delivered and repaired on time, the number of ships that are fully manned, and ordinance production as meeting the Navy’s demands.

Phelan said Caudle’s success “is inextricably linked to my success as secretary of the Navy and vice versa.”

Authorities searched the South St. Paul home of a man with a history of making threats against law enforcement and found drugs and approximately 90 guns, including a rifle with a scope set up on a tripod overlooking the front door, according to court documents.

Kollin J. Konitzer, 34, is well known to authorities “due to his concerning, escalating pattern of conduct” toward law enforcement, the documents say.

Kollin J. Konitzer (Courtesy of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)

So when South St. Paul police learned the afternoon of Aug. 19 that Konitzer was on his way to city hall to talk about a records request, he was met in a lobby by a commander.

The officer saw that Konitzer had a gun at his hip under his shirt, then discovered he did not have a permit to carry a firearm, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dakota County District Court.

Konitzer was arrested and jailed, and police filed a petition for an extreme risk protection order against him the same day alleging that he has made several threats to law enforcement and his ex-partners.

On Wednesday, agents with the Dakota County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant on Konitzer’s home in the 300 block of Seventh Avenue South and found the stockpile of handguns, shotguns and rifles, according to a complaint in that case.

A safe in his bedroom included 0.91 grams of fentanyl and a pill bottle — with no identifying prescription information — that contained 53 pills of methylphenidate, a controlled substance primarily used to treat ADHD, the complaint says.

Konitzer’s LinkedIn page says he is the owner and founder of Alphabet Soup Arms LLC, a business that was registered with the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State in November and is considered active. The online record cites his South St. Paul home as the principal place of business.

The petition for an extreme risk protection order, which a judge granted Aug. 20, details a history of alleged threatening behavior toward law enforcement, including a “comment that he could kill the police chief before he could return fire,” the document reads. He also allegedly has made “countless” social media posts promoting anti-government ideology.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s Behavioral Threat Assessment Team considers Konitzer to be a threat “due to his concerning, escalating pattern of conduct” toward law enforcement, according to the petition.

The BCA, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and South St. Paul police have all issued officer-safety alerts about Konitzer, and the city of Osseo is forwarding charges for disorderly conduct for his interaction with a front desk clerk, the petition continues.

Loaded 9 mm handgun

Because of his prior interactions with South St. Paul clerical staff, Konitzer has been directed to interact with police commanders, the charges say.

When Cmdr. Dan Salmey met Konitzer at the front window of the police department lobby, he said he wanted data he had requested several years prior regarding an interaction with officers. He also said he wanted to file a complaint related to the data request.

Salmey saw the outline of a handgun through Konitzer’s shirt. At one point he grabbed the grip of the firearm with his middle, ring and pinky fingers, “leaving his index finger free,” the charges say. Salmey then reviewed a prior investigation involving Konitzer and learned he does not have a valid permit to carry a pistol.

Salmey returned to the lobby and asked Konitzer if he had a firearm on him. He replied, “Oh absolutely,” the complaint states.

Konitzer’s 9 mm Sig Sauer handgun had one round in the chamber and 12 rounds in the magazine.

As Konitzer was being placed under arrest, he reportedly said, “I have been waiting for this.” Another officer tried to read Konitzer his Miranda warning, but he became “irate” and began screaming and swearing at the officer. Konitzer invoked his right to remain silent.

Dakota County prosecutors charged Konitzer with possession of a pistol in a public place without a permit, a gross misdemeanor, and five counts of felony fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance.

At a first court appearance Friday on the drug charges, prosecutors requested that Konitzer be held on “significant” bail — $150,000, without conditions — due to the extreme risk protection order and the guns found at his home. He was released from the Dakota County Jail after posting a $100,000 bond with conditions, including no possession of firearms.

An attorney in the drug case is not listed in the court file, and a court-appointed assistant public defender in the no-permit gun case did not immediately return a message Monday asking for comment.

Konitzer does not have a criminal history, other than a speeding ticket.

Grievances with the BCA

The extreme risk protection order petition recounts Konitzer’s other alleged threatening and questionable behavior with government agencies.

The BCA reported that Konitzer has had grievances with the agency’s firearms-instructor certification, and that he has been creating his own certificates purporting to allow the user to conceal and carry, despite lacking BCA approval, the petition alleges.

Related Articles

Lil Nas X pleads not guilty to attacking police officers as he walked naked on LA street

Long-elusive Mexican drug lord Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada pleads guilty in US

David M. Drucker: Crime stats aren’t the best way to make people feel safe

Charge: Tinucci’s co-owner hit bicyclist with SUV, left scene for work

Last defendant pleads guilty in Feeding Our Future juror bribery attempt

In January, Konitzer issued a certificate to an individual who was later denied a permit in Anoka County. In response, Konitzer told Anoka County that “his group would be backed, and they would be armed,” the petition reads.

In April, Konitzer went to the South St. Paul police lobby and made obscene gestures to a staff member.

After his application to become a South St. Paul police cadet was denied, the petition says, Konitzer emailed city staff in July, stating, “We’ll break that thin blue line of tyranny one way or another!”

Konitzer also allegedly had approached South St. Paul officers’ squad vehicles after making social media posts about Molotov cocktails, explosives and firearms.

Recently, he went to the South St. Police Department and the BCA’s headquarters in St. Paul while armed and wearing a tactical vest, according to the petition.