Lyle Steltz of Rush City was elected to a one-year term as president of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society - governing body of the Minnesota State Fair - during the Jan. 15 general business session of the societyís 147th annual meeting. The annual meeting, attended by hundreds of agricultural society delegates from across the state, was held at the Sheraton South Hotel in Bloomington.

Steltz was first elected to the State Fair board of directors in 1993, representing the Societyís third district. In 1997, the International Association of Fairs & Expositions presented Steltz with the associationís Heritage Award, recognizing his volunteer service to the Chisago County Fair, which began in 1971 and continued through 2004. Steltz is retired from farming and construction.

Financial reports released during the meeting show that the State Fair realized a net operating gain of $1.3 million in 2005, based on gross revenues of $30.8 million and gross operating expenses of $29.5 million. The State Fair is a financially self-sufficient quasi-state agency, receiving no federal, state or local funding. Net operating gains are reinvested in maintaining and improving the 320-acre State Fairgrounds, and producing the coming yearís State Fair. The 2006 fair will run Aug. 24 through Labor Day, Sept. 4.

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