(Audubon, Iowa) – The Audubon County Fair gets underway today, in Audubon. Here are today’s activities…

WEDNESDAY, JULY 13
9:00 AM Judging 4-H Static Exhibits
9:00 AM-6:00 PM Fair board secretary’s office open
9:30 AM 4-H Garden Plot Judging
2:00 PM 4-H Communications & Table Setting Event – Agrihall
4:00 PM Clover Kids Pet Show – Rabbit & Poultry Show Area
4:30 PM Clover Kids Showcase – 4-H Bldg.
5:00 PM 4-H Pet & Dog Show – Livestock Pavilion
6:00 PM 4-H Club booth displays must be set-up

The Audubon County Fair wraps-up on Sunday, July 17th, with the livestock sale in the evening, and other activities throughout the day.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Fair begins its full-run today (Wednesday). The schedule of activities includes:

6:30-8:30 am……….Enter & Weigh 4-H/FFA Swine – All livestock is to unload at dock and be
inspected by veterinarian.
8:00 am. ……………Opening Flag Raising Ceremony – Front Gate
8:30-2:00……………Bottle/Bucket Calf followed by Bottle/Bucket Calf Plus One Interviews
Extension Office, 906 6th Street
9:00-10:00 am…….Enter & Weigh 4-H/FFA Sheep and Goats
Unload at dock and be inspected by veterinarian
9:00-11:00 am…….4-H Cake Decorating entries – 4-H Exhibit Building
8:45 am……………..4-H Table Setting Exhibitor’s Meeting
9:00-11:00 am…….4-H Table Setting – 4-H Exhibit Building
11:15 am……………Best of Iowa Contest Exhibitor’s Meeting
11:30 am……………Best of Iowa Contest – Commercial Building
1:00 pm……………..4-H Booths to be finished
1:00 pm-6:00 pm….Enter Open Class Non-Livestock Exhibits
4:00 pm……………..Carnival
5:30-6:30 pm………Enter 4-H/FFA Rabbits – All livestock must be inspected by the vet before going to their cage
4:30-7:00 pm………Enter & Weigh 4-H/FFA Market Beef, Breeding Beef, & Dairy
All livestock is to unload at dock and be inspected by veterinarian.
4:30-5:30 pm………4-H/FFA Horses will be checked in – All livestock must be inspected by the
vet before going to stall.
6:00 pm……………GRANDSTAND: Tractor Pull
6:30-7:30 pm………Enter 4-H/FFA Poultry

The Shelby County Fair concludes Monday, July 18th, with the 4-H/FFA Livestock Auction.

ATLANTIC, IA – Produce in the Park is named for fresh vegetables, and many people associate farmers markets with honey, jams, fresh baked goods, and farm-fresh eggs. But, this week Produce in the Park is all about the meat at the market. Market Manager Brigham Hoegh says Produce in the Park vendors sell local beef, pork, lamb, and chicken. Shoppers aren’t always aware of these products because unlike granola and honey, they can’t be displayed on tables. Vendors selling meat keep these products in coolers, often behind their booths. And some meat is available only by preordering.

Maggie Mueller of Noble Provisions shares beef stick samples at Produce in the Park

• Noble Provisions joined Produce in the Park this year as a beef and pork vendor. The Noble Provisions table is a popular stop at the market in part because the Mueller family offers free samples of their beef sticks.
• Brun Ko Farm also sells pork and beef at the market, along with lamb and chicken (when available). Brun Ko Farm is now taking preorders for chickens that will be available in October.
• Bridgewater Farm currently offers chicken, beef, and limited pork. Bridgewater Farm meat is available by preorder only. To order meat from Bridgewater Farm, call or text Marcie at 641-745-7764 by noon on Thursday.

This week, Hungry Spartan Pizza Food Truck will be serving single slices of wood-fired pizza. Hungry Spartan wasn’t originally scheduled to come to the park this week, but the owner’s birthday is Friday and he called to ask if he could join on Thursday for an early birthday celebration. Be sure to wish Eric a happy birthday when you get your pizza! Produce in the Park continues to schedule additional food trucks for the season. Food truck vendors interested in participating in Produce in the Park should contact the Market Manager at produceintheparkatlanticiowa@gmail.com or 712-249-5870.

Details:

Produce in the Park July 14: MEAT Me at the Market; Time: 4:30-6:30 PM; Location: Atlantic City Park (10 W. 7th Street, Atlantic, IA 50022)

Food Truck: Hungry Spartan Pizza; Fun: It’s Parks & Rec month! Atlantic Parks & Rec will be at the park with yard games and Art in the Park; Live Music: Jeremie Faga

MEAT Me at the Market! The Guest Chef will be serving Homemade Hamburger Helper. Get your local beef, pork, lamb, and chicken from Produce in the Park vendors. Note: chicken is available preorder only. Product Highlights: Fresh produce (tomatoes, zucchini, cabbage, onions, lettuce, and more), meats, farm-fresh eggs, honey, popcorn, lemonade, pastries, crisps, soaps, candles, lotions, art prints, jewelry, greeting cards, plants, lawn decorations, and more!

(Radio Iowa) – More than a dozen people addressed the Iowa Utilities Board today (Tuesday), asking regulators to block the use of eminent domain by companies seeking to seize land for carbon pipelines in the state. Kathy Stockdale of Iowa Falls says two of the proposed pipeline routes go through her family’s Hardin County farm.

James Norris of Red Oak says one of the proposed pipelines would pass behind his house in Montgomery County.

Sherri Webb and her siblings were notified nearly a year ago that the proposed Summit pipeline would go through the farm that’s been in their family for 122 years.

Jessica Wiskus lives near Lisbon and her farm is on the proposed path of the Wolf Carbon Solutions project. She raised concerns about the danger of pipeline ruptures.

After speaking during the public comment period of the Iowa Utilities Board’s regular meeting, the group of pipeline opponents formed a caravan and drove by the governor’s mansion as a form of protest. Utilities Board officials say today’s (Tuesday’s) spoken comments will not be part of the agency’s official record as it considers the pipeline applications, but written comments can be submitted and those will be documented.

(Corning, Iowa) – Here’s what’s in-store for the final day of the Adams County Fair, in Corning, and a look ahead at some follow-up activities.

Tuesday – July 12th

7:00am 4-H Endowment Fund Breakfast

8:00am Dairy Show

9:00am Beef Show

12:00pm Non-Sale Livestock Released

1:00pm 4-H Dog Show

2:00-5:00pm Ag Day in the Pavilion

3:00pm-6:00pm Reach the Red

4:00pm Tall Corn Contest

4:30pm Fair Board BBQ

5:00pm Open Class Bottle Buckaroo Show

6:00pm Adams County Fair Sale

Wednesday – July 13th

8:00am Fair Clean Up

8:30am-5:00pm Static Project Pick Up

Saturday – July 16th

9:00am Carcass Learning and Results Announcement

The Adams County Fair began it’s five-day run on July 8th.

(Radio Iowa) – Some Iowa corn fields were battered or knocked over by last week’s storms and I-S-U Extension Field Agronomist Gentry Sorenson says over the next few days, the upper stalk of the corn may start to shift. “What’ll happen is the corn will ‘goose neck’ — that’s what they call it,” he says. “It’ll try to upright itself It’ll form a crook in the base of the stalk and it’ll upright itself using base roots, trying to get into an upright or verticle fashion.”  Goose necked corn creates headaches during harvest, as the corn cobs fall or break off before they’re captured by the combine.

The latest Iowa crop and weather report indicates the vast majority of Iowa’s corn crop is in good shape. The latest U-S-D-A analysis indicates there were pockets of crop damage from the derecho that swept through northern Iowa last week, but the report does not offer any estimate of the damage. Eighty-one percent of the corn crop is rated in good or excellent condition. Iowa’s soybean conditions: 79 percent in the good or excellent category.

Storms that rolled through dropped rain on parched areas of the state. The state climatologist says the statewide average precipitation last week was over two inches — twice what’s normal this time of year. Spirit Lake recorded the most rainfall for the past week — more than six inches.

(Radio Iowa) – The long-range forecasts are calling for hot and dry conditions to persist likely into August for Iowa and the rest of the Missouri River basin. Meteorologist Doug Kluck, the climate services director for the Central Region of the National Weather Service, says the outlook for the next month shows plenty of summertime heat for much of the nation’s midsection.

“Above-normal temperatures are going to be prevalent, Texas up through the Central Plains, really the whole probability extends all the way up to Canada,” Kluck says, “but the strongest and probably the warmest and the biggest anomalies are going to be to the Central and Southern Plains.” While large sections of Iowa have seen a few plentiful rain showers in recent days, Kluck says less precipitation is expected going forward over the next month.

“Precipitation outlook, not a strong forecast here,” Kluck says, “but below normal for the Southern and Central Plains, Lower Basin, Missouri Basin, and then equal chances elsewhere for the most part.” He says the forecast models point to a slightly-elevated chance for below-normal precipitation for Iowa and the region. The U-S Army Corps of Engineers is predicting runoff into the Missouri River system will be far below-normal through the end of the year.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – For the second year in a row, Guthrie County ISU Extension & Outreach is offering the Wild Places in Guthrie County tourism event! Each year they select five different locations in Guthrie County to explore. A flyer provides you coordinates to each location and a list of a few activities that you can do once you get to each location. “We try to find different areas around that county that hit on recreation, history, and places that you might not even know about and then we create an educational video for each location with the help of local experts,” said Mollie Clark, Youth Coordinator.

With this event, you can really go at your own pace once you have the flyer with the information on it. First pick one of the mystery locations to visit then follow the coordinates to get there. Once you have arrived at the location find the flyer with QR codes on them. Scan the large QR code to watch a video to learn more about the site you are visiting. Make sure to take some time to explore each site, there are suggestions listed with each location on the flyer. Pick a new site and repeat this adventure until you hit all five locations! Make sure to scan the QR code to check in at each site so we can track how many people participate.

Guthrie County Extension is offering a mystery prize to two lucky people. To be entered in a drawing for a prize take a picture at each location. Post your pictures on Facebook, tag Guthrie County Extension, and #GuthrieCountyWildThings. If you post entries at all five locations, you’ll receive 5 extra entries. All entries will be due by July 18th, 2022.

“We had a few different goals with this event when we started it in 2021. We hope to help stimulate the local economy by promoting tourist locations, provide a family friendly all ages event to the citizens of Guthrie County and surrounding areas, and get people outdoors exploring the different amenities that Guthrie County has to offer. We had a great response last year and are excited to be able to bring it back for a second year,” said Krista Downing, Program Coordinator.

For more information or to download the flyer for this year, please visit our website at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/guthrie/. If you have any questions about the tourism event please feel free to reach out to the Guthrie County ISU Extension office at 641-747-2276.

Monday – July 11th

7:00am-3:00pm Senior Day Activities

7:30am Swine Show

8:00am Tractor Ride / Tractor Show

11:00am Rabbit and Small Pet Show (or following conclusion of Swine show)

1:00pm Livestock Judging Contest

1:00pm-4:30pm Antique Day

5:00pm Pedal Pull (check-in at 4:30pm)

5:00pm Rural Development BBQ

6:00pm 4-H Foundation and State Fair Awards – Fashion Show, Share the Fun, Working Exhibits

7:00pm Rodeo (T&C Rodeo Company)

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa State Fair’s C-E-O and a key official in the Iowa COUNTY fair circuit say concerts are a growing emphasis to spur fair attendance. Tom Barnes, executive secretary of the Mighty Howard County Fair, is also executive director of the Association of Iowa Fairs.  “There’s a lot of other things at the fair that we want to brag about and push, but we’ve got to get the people there first,” Barnes says, “and that’s what the concerts will do.”

Rodeos and race track events were the bread and butter of county fairs not too many years ago, according to Barnes, but a handful of county fairs started emphasizing concert entertainment about eight years ago and the trend spread. “Fairs were seeing what their neighbors were doing and now we’re seeing a lot of even small county fairs throwing a small-dollar concert,” Barnes says. “It gives the community something else to come to the fair for.” Gary Slater, the General Manager and C-E-O of the Iowa State Fair, says about 10 percent of people who attend the Iowa State Fair go to a show at the Grandstand — but the performances matter to those who do NOT attend a concert.

“That’s the pulse of the Fair,” Slater says. “Whether you attend the Grandstand or not, you like to know what’s going on and you like the Fair to pull those popular entertainers.” The Fair spent a million dollars renovating the Grandstand stage in 2018, to meet artists’ expectations for video screens, lighting and sound systems. “We had to get into that business or else they wouldn’t come to an outdoor state fair venue,” Slater says. “…It’s an expensive thing.”

Every concert-goer has to buy a ticket to enter the fairgrounds and Slater says when expenses and profits are calculated from the Grandstand, they aim to break even. The 2022 Iowa State Fair runs from August 11th through the 21st this year.

Here’s a list of area County Fairs:

• The Adams County Fair concludes its full, 5-day run, on Tuesday
• Audubon, July 13-17
• Shelby County Fair, July 13-18
• Montgomery County Fair, July 19-24
• Adair, July 20-24
• Pottawattamie County Fair, July 20-24
• Cass, July 27-Aug. 2
• Guthrie County Fair, Sept. 1st thru the 5th