Brown County has a Finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way!

On Sunday afternoon, the Finalists for 2011 Princess Kay of the Milky Way were named! And Brown County is proud to be home to yet another butterhead! 

Congratulations to Kelsey Sellner, of Sleepy Eye!  (Pictured 1st on left, front row)

After a grueling Saturday, filled with personal interviews, mock media interviews, and speeches, a panel of judges chose these lovely 12 ladies from over 70 princesses across the state of Minnesota!  Each of these young women will have their likenesses carved in a 90 pound block of butter at the Minnesota State Fair in August!  Brown County has been home to 13 butterheads (Angela Sellner, 2010, being the most recent)...Kelsey will be our 14th butterhead! 

We are so proud of Kelsey!  Congratulations to her and her family!!!!

Audrey Mohr, 2006

Brown County Dairy Princess Audrey Mohr and cousin at her "Congratulations" Celebration, following her coronation as Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

It was an awesome honor to have a Princess Kay to be available for local farm visits.

Official Princess Kay of the Milky Way portrait.

Ah...the famous butter carving, hours of work for a delicious piece of art!

Sure looks like a good match to us!

Audrey, at the Princess Kay Coronation...I think she was surprised to have earned the crown! But we all know she deserved it!

At the MN State Fair, Audrey enjoyed handing out milk at the "All You Can Drink" Milk Stand.

Audrey Mohr, 2006

Parents: Ron & Penny Mohr, New Ulm, MN
Currently: New Ulm, MN
In addition to serving as a Brown County Dairy Princess, Audrey is also the only Princess Kay of the Milky Way to come from Brown County! Audrey’s head was carved in butter in 2006. Audrey shares, “I still have the butterhead in my freezer and haven’t decided what I want to do with it yet!” “I enjoyed the entire state fair as Princess Kay-the media promotion was overwhelming! I enjoyed throwing the first pitch at a MN Twins baseball game as Princess Kay. I also enjoyed having 11 of the 12 2007 PK finalists tour the New Ulm AMPI butter plant where our butterheads are packaged!” Audrey is a geology student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She loves her work as an Admissions Intern and has completed undergraduate geology research projects over the past two summers. “My fiancé and I will be married next summer after which I will attend graduate school in Minnesota or Wisconsin for hydrogeology or environmental policy.” To current princesses, Audrey advises: “Enjoy your days as a princess! You have a wonderful responsibility. Don’t be afraid to think creatively when presenting to all audiences; there’s almost always a new way to do a promotion.” When asked about promoting dairy in her life now, Audrey shares, “Eau Claire is a relatively urban community so I meet lots of people that have never experienced dairy farms, agriculture or even heard of Princess Kay! I like to share my experiences with my classmates and coworkers and look forward to applying my agriculture background to my future career.

Robyn Schnobrich 2003 & 2004

Robyn Schnobrich stares down her butterhead at the MN State Fair in 2004.

2003 Princesses Julia Fischer, Robyn Schnobrich and Sarah Haala had the opportunity to visit the State Capitol  and speak with various representatives.

At the State Fair, Robyn enjoyed riding in the daily parade, pictured here with another finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

Robyn is pictured above at the Southern MN Youth Dairy Show.

Robyn Schnobrich and Audrey Mohr visited area day cares during the summer of 2004.

Robyn Schnobrich  2003 & 2004

Parents: Richard & Kathy Schnobrich, New Ulm
Currently: Gibbon, MN
In addition to serving as a Brown County Dairy Princess, Robyn was also chosen as a Finalist for Princess Kay in 2004. She also had the honor of having her likeness carved in butter at the Minnesota State Fair. Robyn shares her favorite promotion: “My favorite promotions were giving away milk and cheese at the New Ulm Farm City Hub Club Farm Show and giving away root beer floats at the Bruggemann Appreciation Day. It allowed to be give back to those producers that I represented.” Robyn will be marrying Andrew Schwab, late August 2010. She currently works for Minnesota DHIA (Dairy Herd Improvement Association) as a Marketing Director, and has held this position for the past 3 years. Robyn also dairy farms with her parents Richard and Kathy. To current princesses, Robyn shares, “Have fun and smile! You never know who’s watching!” To promote dairy products still, Robyn is a dairy farmer and makes sure that dairy products (milk, ice cream, etc.) are at all business meetings for DHIA.

Annette Seitz Olson, 1995

Annette Olson, 1995 Brown County Dairy Ambassador: 1993 & 1994

Parents: Ron & Cathy Seitz, New Ulm
Current Address:  New Ulm, MN
Annette was crowned the 1995 Region IX Dairy Princess and she sure did have her head carved in butter. Annette shares that her favorite dairy promotion/memory, “I simply loved all the different activities I had a chance to participate in. From talking to eager to learn students at elementary schools; to waving at family, friends, and excited people at parades; to talking with customers/employees at grocery store promotions; and the chance to represent Brown County and Region IX at the Princess Kay of the Milky Way contest and at the MN State Fair.” Today Annette, can be seen with her husband, Dan and two children, Kallie (5) and Kaden (3). If she is not with them she can be seen working at the Brown County License Bureau in New Ulm. To current princesses, Annette says, “Take time to enjoy your honor of representing the dairy farmers of Brown County (or possibly the state of Minnesota)! You support the dairy farmers and they'll be supporting you. The time of being a princess goes fast - but it is your time - make the most of it! This is your time to be a dairy advocate and a princess (every little girls dream)! When asked how she still promotes dairy products, Annette responded, “I still try to advertise the use of dairy products when hosting functions at our home. I will continue to support all of the remaining hard working dairy farmers. I still continue to say...You scream, I scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM. Thank you dairy farmers and manufacturers for making so many wonderful dairy products for the consumers like me to purchase!” Annette also shares an interesting story, “Prior to the 1997 dairy princess contest, I had the pleasure of working with the Region IX Dairy Princess and Attendants. These three where good friends of mine through the years: the 1997 Region IX Dairy Princess was my best friend, Kelly (Beranek) Brennan from Nicollet County and the attendants where our 1997 Brown County Dairy Princesses...Deanne (Tauer) Horter and Christy (Wensauer) Kallevig. It was a very fun year and great to have worked with them prior to and during their contests.”

Lisa Lax Moldaschel, 1984

Princess Kay of the Milky Way Barbra Jean Bianchi with Lisa Lax.

Lisa on the Band Stand Stage at the Minnesota State Fair, the night of the Princess Kay of the Milky Way Coronation.

Lisa with her block of butter, before the masterpiece was created!

Lisa with the finished product!  It's a definite match!

Lisa enjoyed the daily parades at the Minnesota State Fair. 

Lisa pictured above with the 1985 Brown County Dairy Princesses Mary Windschitl and Cheryl Marti.

Lisa Lax Moldaschel, 1984

Parents: Albert & Dorothy Lax, Sleepy Eye
Currently: Sleepy Eye MN
Lisa not only served Brown County as Dairy Princess in 1984, but also the Region as Regional Dairy Princess. She also had the enjoyable experience of having her likeness carved into a 90 pound block of butter! Her favorite memories from her reign include: the Minnesota State Fair, posing in the butter cooler to have her likeness carved in butter made by AMPI of New Ulm. “It was fun to see the people on the outside of the glass cooler; their looks and expressions, especially the kids!” Currently Lisa lives in Sleepy Eye with her husband Ron and their 2 children Jae and Holly. She works at NAPA Auto and Truck Parts as a counter salesperson. To current princesses Lisa says, “Always be yourself. No one can do it better than you. Always appreciate your dairy farm background. It’s a great character builder that will take you through life!” Lisa makes sure to look for “Real” Dairy products at the grocery store, “I teach my daughter that real dairy is always better than the “fakes.”” An interesting story that Lisa shares: “There was so many parades! I especially remember with fondness the red convertible that my dad bought solely to take me in to the parades, needless to say he was proud! And there was the Heritagefest Parade that year in New Ulm, where a young man in the crowd threw a water balloon at me, and as it passed by I reached out and caught it. I threw it back at him, definitely catching him off guard!” Lesson learned: Never mess with dairy farmer’s daughters!

Marlys Forstner Davis, 1976

Marlys Forstner Davis, 1976


Parents: Gene (deceased Oct. 12, 2001) and Evelyn Forstner, Sleepy Eye, Minnesota

Currently: Beaverton, OR 97005

Marlys had the honor of serving as a regional dairy princess in 1976, which means she did have her head carved in butter! Her favorite part of being regional dairy princess was meeting people from all over the state who she competed against. They had some wonderful, talented young women competing in 1976. Marlys also says, “It was also lots of fun riding in the many parades in Southern Minnesota while representing the dairy industry in Brown County.” In 1978 Marlys married Gerard Davis and moved to Beaverton. Oregon. They have lived there for the past 32 years. They have a 15-year old son, Dalton. They adopted him from India in 1994. Marlys works as a grocery checker for WinCo Foods, where she has been for the past 32 years also! Some of the time she spends as store bookkeeper, but most of the time she has enjoyed checking groceries. Marlys advises current princesses: “Enjoy all the people you get to meet during the process. There are definitely wonderful princesses from around the state. Be yourself and show your own special characteristics to the judges. A great smile is always important!” In Oregon Marlys enjoys Tillamook Dairy and in the Portland area, she enjoys Alpenrose Dairy. “Tillamook Dairy makes some wonderful cheeses. My son and husband are hooked on their Vanilla Bean Yogurt. At Alpenrose, they have organic milk and other milk products. I support them by buying their products. I also buy Schwan’s frozen yogurt! We get the Schwan’s man out here too!”

Welcome to Cows n' Crowns!!!

Welcome to Cows n" Crowns...a celebration of the 50 great years that we have been honored to have a wonderful Dairy Princess Program in Brown County.  I hope to use this blog to highlight the great people that have worked in our county and showcase some of the great pictures and articles that they have shared with me.  It's truly been an honor to serve as a princess and now as the princess coordinator for this county.  The passion for the dairy industry is very deep in this county...the people know and love their cows and the product that they produce.  I hope that you will find this to be an interesting blog about the progress of the dairy industry in the past 50 years and a celebration of the people that made it so great!  So here's Brown County's Princess Program by the numbers (to start us out).....

Brown County has:

• 104 Princesses in the past 50 years
• 8 Regional Dairy Princess Attendants
• 12 Butterheads and one more on the way this August, at the Minnesota State Fair
• 11 Regional Princesses or Finalists for Princess Kay
• 2 Runners-Up to Princess Kay of the Milky Way
• 1 Princess Kay of the Milky Way

It's been a busy 50 years!  More to come tomorrow...stay tuned...highlighting the very FIRST Brown County Dairy Princess from 1960!