So Minnesota: A look back at Johnny, the 2018 Minn. State Fair largest boar contest winner

The Minnesota State Fair is all about food and fun. But for many, seeing the animals is truly a highlight.

While the Great Minnesota Get-Together isn’t happening this month, one New Prague woman lived out her State Fair dream a few years ago.

In 2018, Shelly Tiede and her family entered a sizable sow named Johnny into the Minnesota State Fair largest boar competition.

"I did have a dream going to the State Fair with our show pigs," Tiede said. "We’d looked at the big boar every year, and I always wanted a big boar."

Johnny won the contest, weighing 1,040 pounds,

"He loved donuts," Tiede said "We’d give him donuts almost every day."

Tiede is disappointed that the State Fair had to be canceled this year.

"The sad part for me is that (it’s) where the city folks get to learn about agriculture, and we’re missing a whole year of that."