Thirty-three teams vied to win attendees’ votes at the 2026 RibFest sponsored by the Minnesota Building Trades Yellow Ribbon Committee and held at the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Infantry Division Headquarters in Arden Hills.
In this year’s RibFest, the fifth annual, teams competed in two categories, ribs and chicken. Paid attendees were given tickets with which they could vote on the best cuisine. This year’s crowd required a lot of food, too. Teams cooked 650 racks of ribs delivered by Hormel Foods just hours before the event started. Grocery store chain Hy-Vee supplied chicken thighs.
The opening ceremony featured remarks from Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council President Dan McConnell, Arden Hills Mayor David Grant and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
The Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council officially became a Yellow Ribbon Company in February of 2022 after voting on the measure at their previous year’s convention. “Even though this is our fifth one, it’s always a work-in-progress,” stated Joe Fowler, Minnesota Building Trades Yellow Ribbon Committee Chair. “Next year we might offer more awards to the competing teams. But we are happy the event keeps growing.”
The purpose of the RibFest event is twofold:
First, within the 134th Brigade Support Battalion headquartered in Arden Hills is an engineering group that allows soldiers to choose a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). Many of those jobs mirror career tracks within several affiliated trades of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades (pipefitters, masons, heavy equipment operators, etc.). The union trades want to offer the opportunity to those soldiers to join the building trades, turning their military service into a profitable career.
Second, the event is a fundraiser for the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Committee. The money goes into the real purpose for the program – helping military members and their families. The money, combined with the skills of the union building trades, allows the organization to do more. Sometimes it involves helping a soldier make ends meet while he or she is on a deployment. Other times it may be helping out with a practical daily necessity like plowing snow for a pregnant mother whose husband is away.
“This is an event that symbolizes what the building trades unions do – we help each other and the communities where we live,” said McConnell. “We are proud to help the Minnesota National Guard. With an event like this, I will say helping our service men and women never tasted so good.”
Here’s the list of this year’s winners:
Chicken
3rd: Smoked to Spec
2nd: Local 417 Triple B’s
1st: The Smokin Returns
Ribs
3rd: Ractuary’s
2nd: Brotherhood Brings Quality
1st: Union BBQ
Reserve Grand Champs: Big Ash Racks
Grand Champs: Brotherhood Brings Quality
Peoples Choice: Sizzlin’ Salamanders
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