Two days before the first visitors come through the gates of the Minnesota State Fair, the grounds welcomed another group of guests: hundreds of live, native fish.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources stocked its popular fish pond Tuesday morning. During the run of the fair from Thursday through Labor Day, fairgoers can see the rare paddlefish and prehistoric lake sturgeon, plus a few dozen more species.

DNR hatchery manager Genevieve Furtner was on site to oversee Tuesday’s stocking operation.

“It’s always quite the fanfare,” Furtner said.

Dozens of DNR staff helped scoop fish out of aerated tanks on the backs of trucks and pass them into the pond. Furtner said it takes so many people, that the DNR often recruits volunteers from its non-fish-related ranks — outreach interns a

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