Their national convention officially opens on Labor Day, Sept. 1, so it overlaps one day with the Fair. Last year, State Fair Police Chief Art Blakey — who relies on hundreds of off-duty police officers in the region to take vacation from their departments to supplement his small force —  wondered if St. Paul and Ramsey County would need all of the area's off-duty cops for convention coverage. But on Monday, Blakey said he's now got enough officers to cover the afternoon shifts but could use a few more for the morning shifts.

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