Did you know that since 1990, the Minnesota Lottery has generated more than $4.1 billion to benefit our beautiful state? Nearly $2 billion of that has gone directly to protecting Minnesota’s lakes, parks, trails, wildlife, and so much more.
This year at the Minnesota State Fair, you can see firsthand how those dollars are making a real difference and you could score some awesome prizes while you’re at it.
Here’s how it works:
-Stop by the Minnesota Lottery’s brand-new booth on Underwood Street, right across from the Food Building, or visit one of our beneficiary partners listed below.
-Snap a fun photo, discover something cool about how lottery dollars help Minnesota thrive, and enter the Share Your Lottery at the Fair Story Contest.
That’s it! You’ll be entered to win the Grand Prize of $350 in scratch tickets PLUS a Lottery cooler and T-shirt or one of 12 Daily Prizes of $35 in scratch tickets PLUS a lottery cooler and T-shirt. Come for the corn dogs, stay for the prizes and leave knowing your lottery dollars are doing a whole lot of good.
Check out these incredible beneficiaries, learn about their great work and recent projects that are making a difference across Minnesota and enter for your chance to win here:
Board of Water and Soil Resources
- Lawns to Legumes Program saves native pollinators, like the endangered rusty patched bumble bee, by transforming ordinary lawns into vibrant native plant habitats.
- Habitat Enhancement Landscape Program (HELP) grants support high-impact projects that boost pollinator and wildlife habitat, strengthen biodiversity, improve water quality, capture carbon, and build resilient landscapes ready to take on climate change and invasive species.
Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach (U of M)
- University of Minnesota’s Center for Prion Research and Outreach responds to the urgent threat of chronic wasting disease (CWD) by creating a multidisciplinary research center focused on prion diseases.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
- Advancing Collaborative Wild Rice Monitoring Program Technologies brings together tribal partners and NGOs to alleviate wild rice decline, strengthen wild rice monitoring and expand statewide mapping efforts.
- Foundational Data for Moth and Butterfly Conservation creates Minnesota’s first-ever comprehensive list of moths and butterflies - uncovering the hidden gems of our skies!
Minnesota Department of Transportation
- Living Snow Fence Program turns roadsides into powerful climate solutions by planting native trees, shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers to create living snow fences that reduce blowing snow and road maintenance costs.
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
- Emerald Ash Borer Biocontrol Research and Implementation tackles the destructive emerald ash borer by unleashing nature’s own allies, biological control agents, to curb its spread.
- Elimination of Target Invasive Plant Species Program empowers volunteers and professionals with the skills to detect, manage, and track newly emerging invasive species and protect our ecosystems.
Pollution Control Agency
- Pine Needles Reveal Past and Present Airborne PFAS Program helps researchers tap into both current and historic pine needles. Their waxy coating traps airborne pollutants allowing researchers to track the presence of harmful PFAS chemicals in the air.
- Determining Ambient Background PFAS Concentrations in Minnesota Soils Project measures PFAS levels in soils across urban and rural Minnesota. This data will guide smart strategies to manage and clean up PFAS contamination statewide.
University of Minnesota
- Managing Future Floods and Droughts in Minnesota Project taps into statewide data to build powerful tools to track shifts in heavy rainfall and drought - how often they strike, how long they last, and how intense they get – to help communities better prepare for a changing climate.
- Preserving Minnesota Wildflower Information Program supercharges public access to native plant knowledge by linking the Minnesota Wildflowers digital tool with the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas making it easier than ever to explore, learn about, and protect Minnesota’s rich plant life.
This is just a sampling of the incredible environmental projects in all 87 Minnesota counties. Enjoy learning about some of them at the Minnesota State Fair and enter the Share Your Lottery at the Fair Story contest!