Mower County Fair Preview
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The fairestof the seasons
By Jason Schoonover
The best of Mower County will soon be on full dis-play.From Aug. 9 to 14, the fair will bring one of the
county’s busiest weeks of summer.“I always look at it as the showcase of the county,”
said Ken Trom, fair director.The fair is often a time to see what’s going on in the
rural areas of the county and in the city of Austin,Trom noted. From concessions and commercial dis-plays to livestock shows and 4-H, there are plenty ofresidents lined up to work or compete at the fair.But, Tromsaid the fair is for everyone, not just those
competing or showcasing a project.“Everybodyhas an opportunity to participate in it,”
Trom said.
Best of MowerThe fourth annual Pride of Mower awards and the
opening ceremonywill be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in thefair square. The event is a chance to honor those whohave given back to help better the community.“It really recognizes a lot of those folks that do vol-
unteer work all year long, year after year after year,”Trom said.Without such people, Trom said theworld would be
a drastically different place.“These kinds of people and these kinds of organi-
zations really do a lot for their community, and they
just really need to be recognized every once and awhile,” he said.The awards and opening ceremony have been
moved to the evening to allow more people to attend.Winners will be announced for awards like FairPerson of the Year, Farm Family of the Year andOutstanding Senior Volunteer.
County’s get-togetherruns Aug. 9 through 14
Herald file photoBrianna Garcia and, 10, and Ethan Crews, 6 take a spin on the Zender during Kids Day on the midway at the MowerCounty Fair.
“I always look at it
as the showcase of
the county.”-Ken Trom
Mower County Fair Director> FAIR continues on 2
2 SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - MOWER COUNTY FAIR PREVIEW
FREE ADMISSION!Family Fun n Workshops n Exhibitors n Food n Music
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Solar Carnival for Kids • Teens Go Green • MagicianGeocaching • Family Canoe Fun
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Merriam’s backAlong with all the animals and 4-
H shows, there will also be a carshow featuring mostly 1950s automo-biles.For the 28th year, Merriam’s
Midway will host the rides.“It’s absolutely one of the top car-
nivals going,” he said.The fish and game building will
also be back this year.“They always do such a good job
there,” he said.The free stage will feature an
array of performers like the DCDrifters, a reunion of Austin’s GotTalent, Austin Big Band and twoElvis Presley impersonators.“He’s coming back twice,” Trom
said. “He’s one of the best in thebusiness.”Thursday will be Senior Day, and
there will be a tent of various activi-ties for seniors.
There will be a tent for companiesthat service senior citizens, likeMayo Clinic Health System inAustin. Past favorites Tina and Lenaare set to return to the free stage thatday, and a Neil Diamond tribute actis also set to perform.The fair isn’t the only thing com-
ing to the fairgrounds.
SponsorsIt’s still free.Despite the tough economic times,
the fair still doesn’t charge, whichTrom said is one of the fair’s keys tosuccess.“If we started charging, attendance
would drop way off,” he said.Despite cuts a few years ago to
county funding, the fair has beenbacked by sponsorship dollars.“It’s way up, and a lot of sponsors -
— all the way from small amounts towhat I call large amounts,” he said.“People really do want a good fair,”
he added. “So people step up to theplate.”
Fair: Admission still free,largely thanks to sponsorsFrom Page 1
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - MOWER COUNTY FAIR PREVIEW SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 3
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By Dustin HeckmanExecutive Director of the Mower County Historical Society
The Mower County HistoricalSociety invites everyone to visit ourmuseum buildings and activitiesduring the Mower County Fair,Aug. 9-14.MCHS will be open from 1 p.m. to
8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.The buildings will be open 1-5 p.m.on Sunday. There is no charge toview the buildings during fairweek, but donations are appreci-ated.This year’s activities will feature
a few traditional groups andevents. The MCHS Ag Committeewill host the 13th annual AntiqueTractor show in the Ag Building.For entry information contact
Don Chapek (433-4979), DaveSpinler (433-3325), or DeWayneHabermann (437-3805).The Austin Amateur Radio Club
will occupy the CommunicationsBuilding during the week. Come
see what these guys are all about.Members of the local DAVA,Legion and VFW Posts will be sta-tioned all week in the HeadquartersBuilding.On Saturday, the Twilight
Treadlers will be stationed in frontof the Administration Building.Check out what crafts they areworking on this year.The Historical Society will have
various programs and activitiesthroughout the week to entertainfair visitors. Kids can stop by thearchaeology dig to see what it is
like to be a real archaeologist.Cost is 25 cents per game.Building on last year’s musical en-tertainment, MCHS will be host-ing two unique shows forfairgoers.On Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m.,
the Austin Big Band will give aperformance featuring standardsof that era. Saturday evening willfeature a Variety Show from 5 to 7p.m. It will include musicians,dancers, acting, and comedy. Ifyou are interested in performing,please contact Amanda Stoa (434-2577) or Kris Allas (433-3327).Back by popular demand will
be the Let’s Dance exhibit in thePioneer Building. If you missedthis tribute to the musicians ofthe big band era and the land-marks they played last year or dur-ing the New Harmonies exhibit atthe library, do not miss yourchance to see it now.MCHS hopes to see everyone at
the Mower County Fair.
History on display during fair week
Herald file photoMilwaukee Road Historical Association Presi-dent Bob Storozuk pulls the whistle on the1004 Milwaukee steam engine at the MowerCounty Historical Society earlier this summer.The engine and the rest of the Historical Soci-ety’s gems will be on display during the fair.
Parking at the Historical SocietyMCHS will offer parking on their grounds for
$5 per day or $20 for a season pass.
More information, office hoursFor more information on events or generalinformation call their office at (507) 437-
6082 during regular business hours,Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
By Matt Peterson
Nothing is ever more consistentat the Mower County Fair than thetradition of showing livestock.“It’s our one weekend of the year
to showcase what we have inMower County here,” said DaveWeness, dairy superintendent atthe fair.Weness has been assisting the
fair for about 11 years — since hesold all his cows — and he’s seennothing but consistent participa-tion in livestock events.“Dairy has always been my love,
and we’ve been coming to theseshows for 40 years; and we just lovedoing that stuff,” Weness saidabout himself, his wife and othersuperintendents at the fair.And with a slew of livestock events,
enthusiasts will open farm festivitiesbefore the fair officially starts. Ahorse show will take place 9 a.m.Saturday, Aug. 6, in the horse arena.Then more horses, sheep, goats, dairyand beef cows, pigs, rabbits and llamaswill take over the livestock buildingthe entire week, Tuesday, Aug. 9through Sunday, Aug. 14.
And speaking of consistency,this year’s 4-H crew at the fairincludes 367 students showcasingtheir hobbies in horticulture, artand livestock — just two fewer stu-dents than last year.This year will be special for
Mower’s 4-H Club, as it’s gracious-ly giving something back. July 4,2010, longtime supporter and 4-Hmember Deb Schammel passedaway after battling cancer. 4-Hmembers are holding a fundraiserin her honor, of which the proceeds
will go to the Hormel Institute forcancer research.“She was an avid gardener and
lifelong 4-H volunteer,” said MelissaKoch, Mower County 4-H programcoordinator. “She touched a lot ofpeople’s lives here.”Another change for 4-H includes
a twist at the finale of the livestockevents with a supreme showman-ship contest. Winners from eachsenior and intermediate divisionof dairy, beef, sheep, goat andswine will have to run the gambit
and learn how to show all fivetypes of animals.Among showing animals, there’s
more engaging activities, too,including horse fun games, a cow-boy shoot-out, steer wrestling, dogagility and obedience trial and aparade of champions.With all of his years of experi-
ence at the fair, Weness encouragesmore people to attend the 2011 agevents.“There’s a whole lot of things to
see,” he said.
4 SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - MOWER COUNTY FAIR PREVIEW
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Their time to shine
Herald file photoLucas Grass of LeRoy leads his grand champion beef steer from the ring during the 2010 4-H Ribbon Auction at the Mower County Fair last year. It was the second year in a row Grasstook the grand champion ribbon.
Livestock show to feature fundraiserfor long-time supporter, Institute
“It’s our one
weekend of the
year to showcase
what we have in
Mower County
here.”-Dave Weness
Dairy superintendent
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - MOWER COUNTY FAIR PREVIEW SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 5
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A look back at 2010Daryl Ingval-son, last year'sFair Person ofthe Year, cutsthe ribbon tokick-off the2010 MowerCounty Fair.The ribboncutting marksthe officialstart to eachyear’s fair.
.
Cameron Trimble, 16,from Austin takes a jumpin the Lite C race at theMotokazie show in frontof the grandstands at theMower County Fair. Thisyear’s show is Wednesdaynight at 7 p.m.
Amelia Weber,13, of Dexter,washes off herhorse Shiloduring the firstday of theM o w e rCounty Fair.
MikeWertz, of Osage, Iowa, shoots out a balloon duringa demonstration by the Iowa Cowboy Mounted Shoot-ing Association at the Mower County Fair.
6 SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - MOWER COUNTY FAIR PREVIEW
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‘It’s what 4-H is all about’By Trey Mewes
The Mower County Fair means one thing toyoung animal lovers: the thrill of 4-H competi-tion.The 4-H competitions are back at the fair this
year with a few changes and some growing pro-grams. All the old favorites like the Swine Show,Dog Obedience and Showmanship and theHorse Fun Show will be at the fair.There’s also the Llama Show, the fairly new
llama display going on its third year and grow-ing bigger.“It doubles every year,” said Mellisa Koch,
fair board director. “We get to double our lla-mas.”The llama show is similar to aspects of other
shows, in that llamas showcase their agility likedogs, as well as overcome trail obstacles likehorses.“That’s really a neat show,” Koch said.The crowning jewel of the 4-H displays this
year could be the new Supreme Champion
Showmanship Contest, a pentathlon of displayprowess where showcase champions show fiveanimals from the sheep, swine, dairy, goat andbeef categories at the same time.“They may or may not have exhibited these
animals before,” Koch said.The contest hasn’t been held in Mower
County before, to Koch’s knowledge, although ifit was it’s beenmany years. Several 4-H studentswho go to other county fairs have seen SupremeChampion Showmanship contests, where thechampions have to learn about showing animalsof all types, and thought Mower County shouldhave that contest too.“They decided they wanted to challenge
themselves as well,” Koch said.What that means is students will have to
learn from one another about how to show dif-ferent animals, which Koch says is vital to the 4-H experience.“It’s a fun way to not only have competition
but ... you’re teaching each other and it’s what 4-H is all about,” she said.
Herald file photoGrady Rambadt sets his cat Madeline down during his inter-view for the 4-H cat show at the Mower County Fair.
Fair will blend competition, learning for youngsters
By Jason Schoonover
Fair officials are looking for astrong showing after a not-so-grand turnout at the grandstandin 2010.The fair made money last year,
but the grandstand struggled, at-tracting about 4,000 people.Fair Director Ken Trom said
the grandstand attendancewas about 4,000 people. Henoted many county fairshave the sameproblemwithproducing popular grandstand entertainment.“What you can put up in
front of grandstand any-more is really limited,”Trom said.Options are limited fur-
ther by the fact that the fairis free, something that isn’tlikely to change to attractgrandstand talent.
“It’s a smaller and smaller partof county fairs,” he added.
Hoping for cooler tempsFair goers and planners alike
are likely hoping for coolerweather at the 2011 fair.Last year, 90 degree days and
high humidity settled in for fairweek, causing hardships formany
animals.The weather seemed to carry
over to attendance, which dippedto about 69,000—a 15 percent drop.The 2011 fair is looking to be
muchmore pleasantwith highs ex-pected to be in the upper 70s to low80s.A few scattered storms are pos-
sible.
AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - MOWER COUNTY FAIR PREVIEW SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 7
By Matt Peterson
Since 1984, Mower County has beencompiling a group of the most notablelivestock farmers, businessmen andadvocates in the area. It’s the livestockhall of fame.This year’s inductee is Glenn
Medgaarden, and according to KenTrom, fair director, “he’s done a lot.”Medgaarden is a longtime farmer of
both beef and hogs, the auctioneer atthe 4-H auction and a pioneer of a beefcookout that takes place at the fair-grounds.At 7 p.m., Aug. 9, Medgaarden will be
honored, along with the family farm ofthe year, Mower’s century farms, fairperson of the year, outstanding seniorvolunteer and outstanding service or-ganization. Then, at 4 p.m., Aug. 11,Medgaarden will officially be inductedinto the Livestock Hall of Fame, and hispicture will reside among the former 27hall-of-famers in the Crane Pavilion.
Medgaarden namedto livestock HOF
Grandstand looks for rebound