UWRF alum Renee Alexander heads up the Great Minnesota Get-Together

 

UWRF alum Renee Alexander heads up the Great Minnesota Get-Together

Minnesota State Fair CEO shares career advice with current students 

Aug. 31, 2026 – When Renee Alexander was a kid, she loved to go to the Minnesota State Fair, but she never thought it would lead to a career. 

"I never thought that the fair could be a job," Alexander said on opening day, August 27, her fourth as the fair's first female CEO. 

Alexander first began working for the fair as a summer intern in 1989, just before beginning her senior year at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. After completing her bachelor's degree in business communications in 1990, she went on to work full time in the fair's Entertainment Department for five years, coordinating free entertainment such as the State Fair Parade, talent contests and other attractions.  

Alexander left the fair for a few years and worked in other event production roles. In 2005, she had the opportunity to return to the fair as entertainment director. 

"I decided that if I was going to come back, I was staying," Alexander said.  

She has been there ever since and took over the CEO role in 2023. 

"I love this place," Alexander said. "I love our mission and the people I work with." 

Alexander took time on a busy opening day (with a record first-day crowd of more than 155,000) to meet with 70 students who work in UWRF's University Center. They included building managers, custodial, production and events staff, many of whom are planning careers in event management and production. They came to see a big event in operation and ask its leader how it all comes together. 

What was the biggest thing Alexander has learned working for the fair? It takes a lot of people inside and outside the organization to make it all happen. 

"This is very much a relationship business," Alexander said. “We build those relationships all year long.” 

What will she do after the fair? Start work on next year’s event. 

"It literally takes us all year to plan the fair," she said. She added that the 322-acre grounds host 200 events throughout the year and need to be maintained all winter as well.  

What about the biggest takeaway from her graduation in 1990 until now? 

"There's no problem you can't solve." 

The Minnesota State Fair and UWRF both go back more than 150 years. Alexander said that she has learned the importance of honoring tradition while still moving forward. 

“I use this a lot with our staff: It’s tradition with momentum,” she said. 

Alexander said she is reminded of her college days on the opening morning of every fair, when she reads good luck messages from her UWRF friends in a group chat. 

“We still stay in touch,” she said. “Those friendships last a lifetime.” 

Reflecting on the role UWRF played in shaping her future, Alexander said she learned the importance of relationships, how to figure out who she was, be true to her values and figure out her path. 

“I thought when I graduated that I would know exactly where I would land in life,” Alexander said. “It didn’t go the way that I thought it would, but I couldn’t be happier with how it ended up.” 

The 2026 Minnesota State Fair continues through Sept. 7.  

Photo: Renee Alexander, a 1990 UW-River Falls graduate, poses for a photo with UWRF mascot Freddy Falcon on opening day of the Minnesota State Fair on August 27, her fourth opening day as the event's CEO. UWRF photo.