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Weekend acts Daughtry, Peter Cetera announced for Iowa State Fair Grandstand

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Iowa State Fair Grandstand.

Iowa State Fair officials have revealed the Grandstand acts for both Saturdays of this year’s fair in Des Moines.

The Grandstand headliner on August 11 features a former American Idol contestant – Chris Daughtry. His band is called Daughtry. The other Saturday Grandstand act was an original member of the band Chicago. Peter Cetera will perform on August 18th with special guest Blood, Sweat & Tears featuring Bo Bice.

The previously announced Grandstand Acts include: Casting Crowns (August 9), Reba (August 10), Old Dominion (August 12), Jim Gaffigan (August 14), Thomas Rhett (August 15), Earth, Wind & Fire (August 16), Sugarland (August 17) and Florida Georgia Line (August 19).

One more act has yet to be announced.

 

Iowa State Fair beefing up security budget

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A security upgrade is in the works for the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Fair spokesperson Mindy Williamson says a 20% boost to the fair’s security budget has been approved and the extra money will be directed toward personnel, training and equipment. Williamson calls it a precautionary move.

“I think this is just a different world we live in today and something that’s been needed at the fairgrounds, but there weren’t any specific events or anything that happened,” Williamson said. The increase in funding will allow the fair to hire sworn police officers, both full-time and part-time.

According to Williamson, the Iowa State Patrol, Des Moines Police and the Polk County Sheriff’s Department will continue to help with security during the Iowa State Fair.

“So, this is just another way to enhance that and be a little more proactive than reactive, given some of the world events that we have seen,” Williamson said. The new public safety force will oversee security for more than 350 events that happen on the fairgrounds each year, including the Iowa State Fair in August. Considering how many people attend the 11-day run of the fair, police have not had to deal with many serious issues.

“We’re thankful to have, you know, a million people who come visit the fairgrounds and less than two-percent of those people have something, an incident, where they’re working with our police officers on the grounds,” Williamson said. “So, great people come to the Iowa State Fair.” The 2018 Iowa State Fair is scheduled for August 9-19.

2017 Iowa State Fair eclipses previous attendance record

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Sky glider at the Iowa State Fair.

The 2017 Iowa State Fair set a new attendance record.

“We actually had eclipsed the total number of people from a year ago through Saturday evening and so that kind of relieves you a little bit,” Iowa State Fair CEO Gary Slater said this afternoon. “But we still had a great day on Sunday, having 94,000-plus.”

The 2017 Iowa State Fair attracted nearly 13,000 more visitors than it did in 2015. 2015 is the year the previous attendance record of a little more than 1.1 million was set. Slater said this year’s 11-day-long fair was held during “nearly perfect days for an August in Iowa.”

“Mother Nature deserves a lot of credit every year, no doubt,” Slater said, “either negative credit or, this year, positive credit.”

More than 40,000 ribbons were handed out during the fair’s livestock shows, its unique contests and in more than 900 different classes in the food competition. The fair took a different approach to its amusement rides in 2017 and created a separate section for young kids.

“People loved it,” said Slater, who has been the State Fair’s top executive for 17 years. “Those 12 rides and two games were just enough for a family to have a great time and not have to worry about the hustle and bustle of the main midway.”

The State Fair Midway along with the stage in the Grandstand are targeted for renovations now that the 2017 fair is over.

Photo courtesy of the Iowa State Fair.

Iowa State Fair milk to go down the drain

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Cow milking at the Iowa State Fair.

All of the milk collected from dairy cows being shown at the 11-day Iowa State Fair will be dumped.

In years past, the milk was sold to a Des Moines area coop for production into cheese.

This year, however, the longstanding buyer backed out and no one else stepped up. Dairy farmer Doug Lyons of Castalia says it’s a commentary on the larger picture of the dairy industry.

“It’s just a fine way of saying we have too much milk in the country and we don’t have to mess with it, we’re not gonna take the chance,” Lyons says. “That’s why they’re not doing it.”

Dairy farmers at the fair can milk their cows in the popular, window-lined milking parlor. Fairgoers can watch as cows are led into stalls and connected to milking machines. Lyons says it’s unfortunate the milk is all going to waste.

“I did get paid for the milk and it did help, but showing cows is not a money maker,” Lyons says. “It’s more just for advertising the farm.” Lyons says when his herd generates attention at the fair, that can lead to breeding sales down the road. The state fair runs through Sunday.

(Thanks to Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)

ISU student from Holy Cross is 2017 Iowa State Fair Queen

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2017 State Fair Queen, Jackie Ehrlich.

This year’s Iowa State Fair queen is a 19-year-old from Dubuque County who’ll be starting her sophomore year at Iowa State University later this month.

Jackie Ehrlich was among the 104 county fair queens who competed in this year’s event. “It was a lot of fun,” Ehrlich says. “I met so many great people and I was absolutely shocked when they called my name.”

Ehrlich has been a regular visitor and competitor at the fair.

“I’ve been coming to the Iowa State Fair since I was probably six years old,” she says. “I used to do dairy judging team. That was on the Wednesday right before the fair started and then we would have our awards on Thursday and I’ve been in 4H since I was in fourth grade, so I’ve been taking projects to the building for a long time.”

The 4H Building sits on the southwest corner of the fairgrounds, but now that she’s a college student, Ehrlich did not have 4H entries this year. Both sets of her grandparents are dairy farmers and she’s spent time in the dairy barn as well as the show ring.

“I milk cows for my mom’s parents and I show for my dad’s parents,” she says.

At this year’s fair, though, Ehrlich is wearing a sash and crown, dispensing handshakes and ribbons to the victors of a variety of state fair competitions.

“My first activity was called ‘Monster Arm Wrestling,'” she says. “It’s intense. It was really cool.”

Ehrlich says her goal for the remaining six days of the event is to encourage visitors to experience the “energy” on the fairgrounds.

“There’s so much to see and do,” Ehrlich says, “so I hope that they are open and ready to look at so many new hobbies and cultures and things.”

Ehrlich hopes to be a researcher when she graduates from college. Her major at Iowa State is agricultural biochemistry, with a minor in nutrition. She will represent the Iowa State Fair for the following 12 months at exhibitions and county fairs around the state.

Governor Reynolds wins annual charity steer show at Iowa State Fair

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A record was set at the Iowa Governor’s Charity Steer Show and Sale at the Iowa State Fair over the weekend.

The sale generated $27,000 dollars for the Ronald McDonald Houses of Iowa, pushing the total raised over 35 years past the $3 million mark. The winner was Governor Kim Reynolds showing a steer owned by Cody Von Glan of Vail. Reynolds says she’s thrilled to carry on the tradition started by former Governor Terry Branstad.

“This is the 35th annual Governor’s Celebrity Steer Show and I just have so much respect and admiration for these young kids that put the time and effort into raising these steers and the proceeds that go toward the Ronald McDonald Houses,” Reynolds says. “They’re to be commended.”

The Ronald McDonald Houses services families with children needing medical attention and Reynolds says a new house is being built in Des Moines. The governor’s winning steer was sponsored by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and the Iowa Beef Industry Council. Council Chair Steve Rehder says the show raises money for a great cause and helps promote the cattle industry.

Rehder says, “It’s a tremendous event to display the beef industry and how we want to work with people and the Ronald McDonald Houses, I can’t think of a better way to do that then the way they help families when families are in need.” Alec Gotto of Dyersville won the People’s Choice Award, a young man who shows while in an electric wheelchair. Iowa Secretary of Ag Bill Northey was the showmanship winner.

(By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton)

Iowa State Fair offers more rides geared toward younger kids

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The 11-day run of the Iowa State Fair opens tomorrow in Des Moines and this year, the youngest fairgoers will be able to enjoy rides and games away from faster, taller, scarier rides.

State Fair manager Gary Slater says an area called Thrill Town will include a selection of “tamer” rides, such as the Grand Carousel and Dizzy Dragon.

“Spinning Strawberry, Dumbo elephant ride, that does go up and down in a circle. So rides that are somewhat tame, but ones I think the kids will really like,” Slater said. The kid-friendly rides in Thrill Town will be separated from the rides and attractions geared towards older fairgoers.

“The moms that are watching those kids, and grandmas and grandpas, I think appreciate the fact it’s a separate area. Whereas the big kids and adults aren’t rushing from ride to ride and maybe making things a little bit chaotic,” Slater said. Provided there’s good weather, Slater expects around one million people will attend the Iowa State Fair between tomorrow and August 20th.

(Thanks to Sarah Boden, Iowa Public Radio)

Fairs get new liability protection from lawsuits over pathogens

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The Grand Concourse at the Iowa State Fair.

Several “lawsuit reform” measures passed by the 2017 Iowa legislature are becoming law this Saturday. One new law will shield more than 100 fairs in Iowa from lawsuits over transmission of the bird flu and other diseases from the animals on exhibit.

The State Fair as well as county and district fairs are included. “The liability exemption is contingent upon the fair authority posting a warning sign at conspicuous places at the fair where people visit for the first time, so they would notice it,” Representative Chuck Holz, a veterinarian from Le Mars, said during House debate of the proposal.

The signs are to warn against touching the animals and to encourage fair-goers to frequently wash their hands to prevent the spread of disease.

Tom Barnes with the Association of Iowa Fairs said county fairs have had similar warnings in  the past, but the new law spells out exactly what they have to say.

“There has to be a sign posted at the very first point of entry into the livestock area warning fairgoers of the possible pathogenic diseases,” Barnes said, “and all of our fairs, I know, are getting those signs prepared.”

Barnes said visitors to animal exhibits in other states have sued after contracting infections.

According to Senator Dan Zumbach of Ryan, going to a fair carries an “inherent risk.”

“Some of these risks, such as being kicked or stepped on, are obvious, but exposure to pathogens — however — is not as obvious as a physical injury from an animal, ” Zumbach said during senate debate this spring. “This bill protects county and district fairs as well as the state fair from liability caused by pathogens believed to be encountered at these fair events.”

The Association of Iowa Fairs and the Iowa State Fair lobbied for this new legal protection. The bill passed the Iowa House unanimously. Only one member of the Iowa Senate voted against it.

Republicans who hold a majority of seats in the legislature approved several other bills that change the rules for lawsuits. The GOP changed liability standards in workers compensation claims, asbestos poisoning cases and medical malpractice lawsuits as well as so-called “nuisance” lawsuits filed against farmers.

2016 Iowa State Fair Queen is Wartburg neuroscience major

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Amanda Rinker

Amanda Rinker

The 2016 Iowa State Fair Queen won the fair’s celebrity goat milking contest this year and now 20-year-old Amanda Riniker of Winthrop is preparing to start her sophomore year at Wartburg College in September.

“I want to work in the medical field, for sure,” Riniker says. “Right now I’m thinking some sort of therapy, so physical therapy, occupational therapy — something that route — and I want to do pediatrics, for sure.”

Her major is neuroscience.

“I take all the ‘bio’ classes, the psych classes, chemistry,” she says. “All the sciences, pretty much.”

Riniker was one of 103 queens from county fairs who competed for the title of State Fair queen.

“I didn’t really know what to expect coming into it,” Riniker says. “But when you walk into a room of a hundred other beautiful girls, it’s really intimidating, but over the week it was just really fun to get to meet all the different county queens from all across the state of Iowa and it was a really great experience and I think the interviews help you build your leadership skills and, overall, it s a great competition.”

Riniker was the Buchanan County Fair Queen. Contestants in the State Fair Queen competition are judged their personality, attitude, leadership, citizenship and community involvement as well as their overall appearance, charm and poise. The next competition Riniker enters will be on a track.

“I am a hurdler,” she says.

Riniker was the president of her local Future Farmers of America chapter. She was a 4Her, too. During her week-long run as Iowa State Fair Queen, she handed our ribbons, measured the beards in the fair’s longest beard competition and milked a goat — and her crown didn’t slip once.

“It is attached with bobby pins and elastic,” she says, “very securely attached.”

This isn’t Riniker’s first run around the fairgrounds.

“I”ve been here ever since I was a little girl and I’m even learning so many awesome things about the State Fair,” Riniker says. “I think everyone needs to come out and visit it if you live in the state of Iowa. It’s definitely, like, one of the great things about our state.”

Riniker has another $8,000 worth of college scholarship money from winning the state fair queen competition.

Iowa State Fair photo.

Grassley says he has plenty of soapboxes, not at the Iowa State Fair

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Senator Chuck Grassley (file photo)

Senator Chuck Grassley (file photo)

A longtime staple of the Iowa State Fair is the Des Moines Register’s Soapbox, where politicians give speeches and take questions, but Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is not on this year’s schedule.

His opponent, Democrat Patty Judge, released a statement saying it’s because “Grassley doesn’t want to answer serious questions from voters,” but Grassley has a response for that claim.

“I’ve never done the Soapbox because I have a soapbox every time I have a Q-and-A with constituents in all 99 counties,” Grassley says. “So, I do have my soapboxes, I just don’t do them at the state fair.” Grassley says he’s visited all 99 of Iowa’s counties every year for the 35 years he’s been in office and has 12 more to go this year. It’s been coined “The Full Grassley.”

Patty Judge

Patty Judge at the Iowa State Fair.

Grassley visited the Iowa State Fair on Monday and says he keeps a tight schedule at the fairgrounds in Des Moines. “I see the things that I enjoy seeing but I also work at the pork tent,” Grassley says. “I also give interviews at radio stations. I’ll bet I gave four or five interviews yesterday, as an example.”

Judge spoke at the State Fair Soapbox on Sunday.