Tornado narrowly misses fair on opening day

It didn’t look like the Steele County Free Fair was going to get off on a good note once again this year as a severe storm came rumbling out of the southeast from the Mankato area.
In fact, it appeared the tornado was headed right for a bulls-eye on the fairgrounds in Owatonna just prior to the fair’s opening ceremonies, causing alarm with officials at the fair. They immediately blasted severe thunderstorm warnings over the fair’s public address system.
“We advised people to take cover or leave,” said Dan Deml, president of the fair. He noted that the fair is in constant contact with emergency management officials, including the National Weather Service. “If there is anything potentially dangerous on the horizon, they notify us right away,” Deml said.
Deml said some people left the grounds while others took shelter inside buildings.
As the storm approached Steele County, fair officials got the break they were looking for. The storm drifted to the south, avoiding Owatonna and the fairgrounds. The fair received heavy rain for about 30 minutes, but no hail or high winds.
“Jim’s watching over us,” Deml said referring to former fair manager Jim Gleason who died earlier this year.
The storm eventually produced a funnel cloud that touched down in the southern part of the county.
Sheriff Lon Thiele confirmed that a tornado touched down in the middle of a corn field southwest of Hope around 4:30 p.m. He said tornado sirens were activated in Ellendale and Blooming Prairie.
“Thank goodness it was a field instead of property where persons could have been injured,” Thiele said.
No significant damage was reported anywhere in the county, according to Thiele.
The funnel cloud made its way into neighboring Freeborn County where a sheriff’s deputy captured it spinning out of the sky over a field.
Because of the impending storm, fair officials delayed the opening ceremonies by 30 minutes. By 5:30 p.m., the sun was back out, and the fair was off like nothing happened. The carnival delayed its opening by one hour.
“We had a beautiful evening,” Deml said of the fair’s opener. “We were fortunate to reopen.”
Once the storm passed, Deml said he walked out of the fair office with a sense of relief. “I smiled, we raised the flag and I said, ‘Let’s have a party,’” Deml said.
Deml admitted he got some “weird butterflies” in his stomach when he became aware of the storm heading to the Owatonna area. He said it’s hard to see Mother Nature potentially ruin something that they have worked hard all year long to prepare for. “The success of the fair is a mirror of the success of the weather,” Deml said.
Thiele said last week’s tornado scare is a good reminder for everyone to “seek shelter and don’t go out to try to video record a dangerous event.”