Tom's Iowa Journal
Friday August 11, 2006
The Iowa State Fair is the single largest event held annually in the state, attracting nearly one million Iowans each year. It was first held in Fairfield, Iowa, in October 1854. According to the fair's organizers, the Iowa State Fair has provided "inspiration for the original novel 'State Fair' by Iowan Phil Stong, three motion pictures and a Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical."
There's nothing in the world like spending a warm August day exploring everything the Iowa State Fair has to offer. Surely, anyone who's ever visited would agree! The first stop Ruth and I made was the KGGO-Des Moines Radio booth. The Round Guy and Heather are two of my favorite radio personalities and I've always enjoyed spending time with them at the fair. After my radio interview, they recommended that we ride the Sky-Glider over the fair. What an experience! The Sky-Glider gave us a 20-minute bird's eye view of the entire fair. If you've never gone on this ride, I recommend you give it a try on your next visit.
After seeing the fair from about 30 feet in the air, we put our feet back on firm ground and went to the Iowa Pork Producers building. There, I had the privilege of grilling the fair's famous delicacy, pork chops-on-a-stick. After spending some time behind the grill, Ruth and I headed to the picnic tables and enjoyed our pork lunches. Luckily, the entire area was underneath a tent for us to grab some shade and get some relief from the heat.
As always, Ruth and I like to try new things, along with our favorites, as we make our way through the fair. Nothing was more relieving from the day's heat than a cold, soft serve, Pineapple-Whip cone. Following that delicious treat, we stopped by the Swine Barn to see this year's winner of the Fair's Biggest Boar, Waldo. He beat out the rest of the competition by weighing in at 1,199 pounds! What a sight that always is. Following the Swine Barn, we made our annual visit to the world famous Butter Cow in the Agriculture Building. As we do every year, after seeing the Butter Cow, Ruth and I got our fill of funnel cake. I can never leave the fair without having a funnel cake!
Following lunch, I made my way down to say hello to WHO Radio's Ken Root at the station's building alongside the fairway. Ken and I chatted on air about a couple of different issues ranging from the recent terror threat alert to rising gas prices to my favorite treats and attractions at the fair.
Ruth and I had such a great time seeing the fair this afternoon. It's great to see so many families coming together and enjoying the best of what Iowa has to offer. If you have plans to take a trip out there in the coming days, please enjoy yourselves and try something old and new, only at the fair!
On a warm Friday night in August, there is nothing like heading to the race track. The final stop of the day took me to the time trials for the 46th Annual Knoxville Nationals. This place is amazing! It is the 3rd largest outdoor stadium in Iowa. Bruce Niemeth, the Director of Business Development, gave me a tour around the grounds, the stands and the press areas.
Our first stop was the infield to see the cars and meet some of the drivers. Unfortunately, I couldn't jump in and take one for a spin around the track, however, I did get to talk to a driver and his crew. They had come all the way from British Columbia, Canada, to compete. He told me that they compete in over 100 races a year. After learning about the life of being a driver and checking out the cars, we headed back to the grandstands. We were fortunate to see how the races are broadcasted and web-casted. We also met the officials who are in charge of the driver's safety and official scoring.
I spoke to the gentleman who is in charge of the web-casting for the Knoxville Nationals. He told me that they average 11 million people a night signing online to get the latest results and watch the races over the internet. People from Australia, Germany, France, Italy, as well as folks all over the U.S. are tuning in to find out how their favorite driver is doing.
After our tour of the facilities we were walking to our seats when Ralph Blackett approached me and introduced himself. He is a Knoxville resident and Vietnam veteran. It was an honor for me to meet him as he thanked me for helping him get his much needed Veterans medical benefits. As I talked with Ralph, I found out that he is in the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame. Ralph invited me to watch a few of the trials with him. I was excited that a "Hall of Famer" was giving me the inside information. It was interesting to have him explain exactly what the drivers were doing and thinking. I visited with Ralph for sometime and was amazed at his stories and knowledge of the track and the sport.
When the engines revved for the first time, I actually jumped. For such a small car, they were very loud! Ralph tells me that you can actually hear them on the other side of town. I want to thank Bruce and his crew for the tour of the facilities and all of the great stories about such a wonderful event here in Iowa.
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