Serving up ice cream, smiles

LONG PRAIRIE, Minn. — Ever since the seed of Haylie Wielenberg’s dairy princess dream was planted many years ago, she has continued to cultivate the dream to make it come true.

Wielenberg, the daughter of Sarah Maland and Mike Wielenberg, grew up in rural Long Prairie next door to her uncle, James Wielenberg, and her grandmother, Jane Wielenberg, who lived on a dairy farm. Here, her uncle and grandmother milked 95 cows in a double-6 herringbone parlor and raised 200 acres of corn and alfalfa for many years. When Wielenberg worked at the farm, her duties included milking cows and feeding the heifers.

Wielenberg’s aunt, Amy (Wielenberg) Swalve, was a Todd County dairy princess years ago, and as long as she can remember, Wielenberg’s family would encourage her to run to be a county dairy princess when she was old enough.

“Growing up in the dairy industry helped shape me, and I wanted to give back to the industry and support farmers and teach others about dairy,” Wielenberg said. “This was something that meant so much to me, and I wanted to share that with others.”

The Wielenberg family sold their herd in 2024 and transitioned to custom raising heifers.

Not having milking cows around did not deter Wielenberg from being involved in the dairy industry. She has been a member of the Wykeham Willing Workers 4-H club since she was in kindergarten and has held officer positions for her local club and for the Todd County Leader’s Council. Within 4-H, Wielenberg has shown dairy cattle, sheep, rabbits and participated in general livestock project bowl. She kept two heifers from her family’s herd to show at the Todd County Fair for her last year in 4-H.

Throughout high school, Wielenberg was also active with the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle FFA Chapter, where she was president her senior year and judged dairy cattle.

“I liked the people you meet and the experiences you get to have through these organizations, and you learn so much from that,” Wielenberg said. “Everyone has a different background and experiences; it is great to learn from them.”

Wielenberg has also gotten to know community members and dairy farmers throughout her county, having served as a junior dairy ambassador for three years and the past two years as a dairy princess.

“I especially like doing the school visits; the kids have such crazy questions,” Wielenberg said. “It is also fun serving up ice cream through our county’s ice cream trailer.”

The Todd County American Dairy Association owns an enclosed trailer with two soft serve ice cream machines. The wagon makes its way around the county to serve the treats at the local town festivals. The county’s dairy royalty team makes appearances to serve ice cream.

Although Wielenberg is undecided on what to do with her butterhead after the completion of the Minnesota State Fair, she is looking forward to her time as a finalist. Each of the 10 Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists will go through judging in August, and the next Princess Kay will be crowned at a coronation on the eve of the Minnesota State Fair.

“I am looking forward to getting to know the other girls and learning their dairy story and the opportunities I will have because of this program,” Wielenberg said.

Wielenberg is currently attending the University of Minnesota Crookston majoring in animal science with a pre-vet emphasis.

“I hope to attend the College of Veterinary Medicine in the Twin Cities to become a large animal vet in the future,” Wielenberg said.