Fair 2024 – Saturday, August 17

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It’s Saturday night and welcome to the grand finale of our Fair 2024 coverage. I’m Paul Yeager in for Bill Riley and we’re going to finish strong with an amazing assortment of state fair fun. 

Here’s a sampling of what we have planned for you tonight.

Backyard chefs rise with the sun in an attempt to grill their way to glory. It’s one small dog against a herd of cattle in the stock dog trials. And the board becomes a battlefield in the chess tournament.

But the first contest we’re bringing you tonight is just, well, it’s hard to describe. You’ll see what I mean.

[Regina Pirtle, Pioneer Hall Superintendent] Good morning everyone. Welcome to Pioneer Hall. Welcome to the Iowa State Fair. Welcome to the Husband Calling Contest.

(Crowd cheering)

It is a contest where women are to call their husband in out of the fields, because years ago, that was only form of communication. We didn't have cell phones back then and their voices mattered.

Okay, judges, are you ready? Number 892.

[Contestant 892] Gary, come here right now. We're gonna be late for the fair. Come here right now. Gary, where are you? There you are. Tucker let's get in the car.

(Crowd cheering)

[Contestant 896] Thomas! Richard! Harold!

[Contestant] Come on, sweetheart. You can do it. Here's my little kiss for you.

(Contestant making kissing sounds)

[Contestant 895] Here. Duggan.

[Contestant 898]  Dominic! Where is the antipas that we had for the celebration? Dominic!

(Text on screen — 3rd place husband calling)

[Contestant 897] Hold your ears.

(Text on screen — 2nd place husband calling)

(Contestant 897 holds a high pitch holler while mother covers her baby's ears)

[Wendy Bryce, Onawa] I think it's just fun. It's so much fun. I know people from other states are like, "What is this?" And I was like, "What do you mean, what is this? This is fun. It's entertaining. It's just a good time." And it's literally really cool to see what everybody comes up with. 

Risty. Risty. Darling. Calling, calling.

(Text on screen — 1st place husband calling)

It's your wife. It's time to come in the house for dinner. So stop. Come on, wait and listen. It's your wife and she needs your attention. Dinner is up on the table. So get your butt in there and out of the stable. Cause it's time to come in. It's time to come in. It's time to come in for dinner. I'm making chicken, potatoes and biscuits. I'm making steak and potatoes and biscuits. It's time to come now. Stop milking the cow and stop feeding that sow. It's time to come in the house for dinner right now.

(Crowd cheering)

[Brooke Kohlsdorf] For many years, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation has hosted a cooking competition at the Iowa State Fair for backyard pit masters. Let's see what these competitors have cooking.

[Brooke] Caitlyn, tell us a little bit about what's happening here.

[Caitlyn Lamm, Cookout Contest Manager] This is Iowa Farm Bureau's Cookout Contest. This is actually our 60th annual contest. It is a celebration of Iowa raised meats and the Iowa farmers who raise that meat with animal care and sustainability as top priorities.

So it's a celebration of the meats. But these are just backyard chefs, people who are really enthusiastic about outdoor cooking and grilling and smoking.

[Brooke] So we've got a father-son duo here today. Jace, what brings you to the state fair?

[Jace Wilson, Lee County] My dad used to grill. And I wanted to.

[Brooke] So you thought you'd try your hand at it today? Okay. What are you grilling up?

[Jace] An Italian fatty. 

[Brooke] What is Italian fatty?

[Jace] It's like meatloaf with stuff inside. 

[Caitlyn] We have 50 entries, and actually, half of the participants this year are new, which is really exciting. And they represent one third of Iowa's counties.

[Brooke] These grilling aficionados are combining sweet flavors with spicy heat and savory smoke in hopes of winning over the judges. 

[Brooke] So I know this is the Lord's work, and someone has to do it, Ed, but tell me about what you're doing today.

[Ed Wilson, Judge] Well, I am obviously not the chef. I am not the expert on how to prepare it, but I am kind of an expert on eating. It blows me away. They put so much time into it, but that they have that much time. This is like a full time gig, and this is not their full time job. So it's really impressive every single year. It's so Iowa.

[Brooke] What are you entering here today?

[Brandon Adkins, Gone Hoggin' BBQ] Pork ribs.

[Brooke] So how long do these have to cook?

[Brandon] 6 hours.

[Brooke] What would you say to someone who's just getting started with smoking or just getting started with competing?

[Mitch Schmitz, Gone Hoggin' BBQ] Don't be afraid of it. Just go after it. It's what you make of it is what it is. It's a lot of fun.

[Emcee] Welcome to the State Fair Hat Contest. It's not really a contest. It's more of a parade this year.

[Sandy Bruns, West Des Moines] There used to be an actual contest, and the people that did it were Red Hats, and they were older, and they retired. And I came down to the fair with my hat that I'm wearing right now, and there was no one here. It upset me so much. I walked right up to the Administration Building, and I said, "Where did the Hat Contest go? I want to show them my hat. I've been working on it for months." They said, "Well, those people retired, but if you want to do it we'll have the hat contest."

And I said, well, I think before we really get started again, I better just be a parade, because I don't know how many people will show up. We ask everybody to bring a hat and make it their own, do something on the hat that was theirs, and come and be in the parade and tell us about their hat.

[Participant] I like to crochet. So I said, "Hey, why not crochet a beer hat for his used Busch Light cans and make a little hat out of it?" That's what I did.

[Sandy] It went fairly well. It was a small group, but we hope to grow that group next year. It'll be here at the same time on senior day. 

[Ann Hegstrom, De Soto] My hat is a state fair pie hat. So when I designed my hat, I wanted to make sure I had a place for the pie. But Minnie Pearl was my inspiration for having the tag and the ribbon. I am the only person in my church who wears the Easter hats, so I'm a hat person. I'm so disappointed that they've gone out of fashion. I've been waiting for this moment. So when they didn't have it last year, I was like, "Oh, I'm so disappointed." But when I saw it was on the docket for this year, I started designing my hat.

[Sandy] The more you work with your hat, the more attached to the hat that you get, and the more that you want to make it the best it can be. When people came to the fair, they came with hats. In the 20th century, early 20th century, it was actually common to not leave your house without a hat. And so that was not unusual that people would wear the hats to the fair also. I feel like there's a place for a hat event here at the fair. If they don't have time, that's fine. Just bring a hat, a boughten hat or whatever. Actually, one of the hats that maybe your mother wore sometime or something would be great. Make it your own hat by putting something of yours on it and bring it to the fair.

We are bringing the hat parade back, and no rain is going to be on my parade. We're having it. 

[Paul] It's hands-on fun for the youngest among us and it’s turning 20 years old this year. How's that possible? Little Hands on the Farm.

[Abby Brown] Two decades and over half a million kids come to the fair to do...

[Kids] work!

[Man 1] Grab one or two.

[Abby] So tell us what families get to experience at Little Hands on the Farm.

[Monica Friday, Little Hands on the Farm Superintendent] At Little Hands on the Farm, it's an on the farm experience. And the kids get to come in and experience real life things. They get to learn about agriculture and how that affects them and their everyday lives. 

We have several different barns here, and each barn has a different experience. They collect all of their things from the farm, just like the farmers do, and they take it to the market and they sell that, and they get their dollar. And then when they get their dollar, they get to go in the store and they get to buy their treat. And what do kids love to do when they come here? The kids love the hands on. 

They love to get in the dirt, and they love to dig around. They love to touch all the apples and go into the dairy barn and milk the cows. They just love all that hands on.

[Abby] And why is this important at the fair? 

[Monica] I think it's super important because it's a free exhibit at the fair, and it gives parents and the kids a little break from thickness of the streets out there. And the kids can come in here and be kids and just enjoy themselves and go through here and have an educational experience and learn a few things. I think we take for granted that all kids in Iowa know about the farm, and that's not true. And I love to teach the kids about the farm.

[Abby] Sam, what did you do today?

[Sam Poole, Grimes] I worked on the farm.

[Abby] Okay, can you tell me about some of your jobs that you did?

[Sam] Okay, so I brushed the sheep.

[Abby] Oh, and what did you get? 

[Sam] And I got some wool.

[Abby] Okay. Should I hold that for you? And what other jobs?

[Sam] And I picked some corn off the plants. And I got some corn seeds.

[Abby] Okay, good. Tell me about your corn seed.

[Sam] So I'm gonna plant them in dirt.

[Abby] Did you collect eggs today?

(Young girl nods her head.)

How many eggs did you get?

[Reign Baird, Ottumwa] One.

[Abby] And what animal did you get the eggs from? 

[Reign] One chick.

[Abby] Good.

(Music)

[Abby] Reece, have you ever been to a farm before?

[Reece Witt, Osage] We actually live on a farm.

[Abby] Oh, so you're a pro at all these jobs? Right?

(Reece nods his head)

Are there any jobs that you did here today that you've never done at home?

[Reece] Milk a cow.

[Abby] What other jobs did you do?

[Reece] I gathered the eggs. 

[Abby] Okay. Do you like eggs?

[Reece] Yeah. Because we have 60 chickens.

[Abby] Oh? So fresh eggs every day for you.

[Reece] And duck eggs and guinea eggs.

[Abby] So does Little Hands on the Farm feel a lot like the farm at home?

[Reece] Kind of, yeah.

(A black and white medium sized dog runs among three cows in a arena)

[Don Hummel, Stock Dog Trials Superintendent] The event is where you take a dog and allow him to herd the livestock and try and take him through obstacles and try and do it as neatly and as quickly as you can. 

There are multiple classes. We have an open class for cattle, which is the more experienced animals that have been around a while and done quite a bit of it. We have a ranch class, which is left to either really young dogs that people are bringing to train or maybe a young handler, any young dog. And we make that a little bit easier. And then we do the same thing with sheep. We have an open and ranch class and sheep.

A good stock dog is the one that can kind of think for itself but yet rely on the handler if he runs into trouble or if he needs a different direction. Sometimes the dog will not know exactly where you want to go, and so you might have to redirect them. But you want a dog also, that can think on his own, because sometimes the handler can't see if there's something that's drawing the animals away from a certain area, and he can go do that on his own. 

[Bob Johnson, Competitor] You got to have a dog that's got a little power, walk right into the cattle, maybe have a bite when you need it. If you got a soft dog, the cows figure out that — can't move them, you kind of got problems. So you gotta have kind of a stout dog, got a little bite in it once in a while. We had a really nice run there. The dog worked really good.

Just had one calf duck out there at the end of the pen, and probably cost me winning it, but it was a good run. Dog worked great. You know, you can take one dog and move big herds of cattle. I'm talking two or 300 head of cattle. You can move it with one dog. 

Get up around the barn lot where you gotta work around pens, and sort stuff off. The dog can do a lot of work. It's just unbelievable what they can do. You could probably get rid of two or three hired men, if you had hired men. If you have a good dog, you kind of got to know what you're doing, but it's doable for about anybody who wants to do it. 

[Jenia Livingston, Competitor] It was about 10 years trying to get dogs to work for me, and they just would not. I could not get one that I liked. And so 2022, my daughter had Ruby, and she said, mom, I've got too many dogs. Can you run Ruby? Or would you like to run her this summer? And I said, absolutely.

So I ran her that summer, and we took state fair championship in the ranch sheep division. My run went good today. I didn't score as well. Ruby had a little trouble with one of the cows wanting to stay with the other ones, but she listened really well. I was really happy with how she performed. 

She's 10 years old, so she's starting to slow down. We've practiced all week, and we just came and did the best job we could do. When you're using voice command, your emotion gets involved in that, and sometimes that will upset the dog. When you use a whistle, there's no emotion in it. The sound might get louder at the emotion in my voice with me is not there. 

And so they listen to the whistle way better than they listen to the voice command. It's fun. It's a challenge. I always learn something new. I always figure out something I gotta change in order to do better.

[Carter Bell, Des Moines] We're at the Iowa State Fair, and we're doing a chess tournament. It's very casual.

[Leviathan Freerksen, Des Moines] Yeah, I think chess is really fun, and you guys should try playing it. 

[Tyson Vande Hoef, Clive] Yeah, I just kind of like the atmosphere where there's a bunch of different games going on. And if you're in between games, you can just go watch one. It's kind of cool to play at the fair.

[Fatima Gamarra, Altoona] I just like the game. It's really fun because you have to think before you do, otherwise you'll end up losing all the time. 

You have to look around the chessboard to see anything attacking or a good move to do, because if you don't, they're going to get an advantage. You can still win, but they're going to get advantage and take most of your pieces, and you'll probably lose.

[Carter] My dad brought out this chess board, and he taught me how to play chess. And so I played him a bunch of times, which I lost a lot. But then one day I won. 

I've played two tournaments before, and they were in a lot more formal spaces. I had to wear a suit. 

My favorite part about playing chess at the Iowa State Fair is probably the fact that it's so casual and it really doesn't matter if you win, but I still like to win.

[Leviathan] So I like just hitting people with sacrifices. I, like sacrifice my bishop. When they take with their queen, I fork their king queen.

[Tyson] I like just the strategy and getting to play against people I don't normally get to play against. I play against my mom a lot, and I beat her most of the time.

[Leviathan] I've been playing chess for about six years now. 

[Carter] I've won my section, the blue ribbon, 1st place, two times in a row. Yeah, I'm going for my 3rd year in a row, winning a blue ribbon. I'm friends with half the people here with all of the chess stuff that I do. 

Just try my best. I don't care if I win or lose, but at least I'll be able to say that I made it past the group stage. 

I think it's definitely one of my favorite things. Along with cheese curds and a few other things.

[Paul] Much of the spirit of the Iowa State Fair comes from contests and competitions. Let’s see who some of the winners are.

Auctioneers Contest

• 1st Place — Quest Flesher, Hannibal, MO
• 2nd Place — Tony Wisely, Perry, OK
• 3rd Place — Chantz Davidson, Orient
• 4th Place — Dylan Webb, Osceola
• 5th Place — Tyler Weaver, Centerville
• 6th Place — Sonny Jensen, Albert Lea, MN

Timber Sports — Bow Saw

• 1st Place — Dan Newton, Collins
• 2nd Place — Dakota Rundlett, Vinton
• 3rd Place — Dave Cox, Oskaloosa

Timber Sports — Bucksaw

• 1st Place — Dave Cox, Oskaloosa
• 2nd Place — Lucas Monson, Boone
• 3rd Place — David Lamme, Sioux Center

Timber Sports — One Man Crosscut

• 1st Place — Dakota Rundlett, Vinton
• 2nd Place — Dave Cox, Oskaloosa
• 3rd Place — Lucan Monson, Boone

Timber Sports — Ax Chopping

• 1st Place — Dave Cox, Oskaloosa
• 2nd Place — Lucas Monson, Boone

Timber Sports — Ladies Bow Saw

• 1st Place — Erin Hefner, Urbandale
• 2nd Place — Sandy Stoner, Fremont
• 3rd Place — Tricia DeVore, Unionville

Timber Sports — One Woman Cross Cut

• 1st Place — Sandy Stoner, Fremont
• 2nd Place — Tricia DeVore, Unionville
• 3rd Place — Erin Hefner, Urbandale

Beard Growing — Longest Beard

• 1st Place — Harold Stephenson, Center Point
• 2nd Place — Adam Johnson, Dyersville
• 3rd Place — Mathew Crispen, Carlisle

Beard Growing — Best Groomed

• 1st Place — Ric Kennedy, Altoona
• 2nd Place — Ben Puller, Spencer
• 3rd Place — Adam Johnson, Dyersville

Beard Growing — Most Unique

• 1st Place — Dan Kilker, Marshalltown
• 2nd Place — Adam Johnson, Dyersville
• 3rd Place — Devin Rasmussen, Ames

Beard Growing — Most Historic

• 1st Place — Dan Rice, Ames
• 2nd Place — Dakota Rundlett, Vinton
• 3rd Place — Andy Skites, Waterloo

Beard Growing — Best Design with Costume

• 1st Place — Tim Smith, Cambridge
• 2nd Place — Dan Rice, Ames

We’ve reached the halfway point of tonight’s show. Which means it’s time to take a quick break.

When we come back we’ll meet some people getting to work making homemade ice cream. We’ll marvel at what some folks manage to leave behind and just like we do every year, we’ll celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s winners at the Sale of Champions.

It’s not over yet and we plan to finish our Saturday night strong. So come right back for more state fair fun on Iowa PBS!

[Blair Ryan] Fill in the blank. The Iowa State Fair is ...

[Boy 1] ...awesome.

[Blair] The Iowa State Fair is ...

[Boy 2] ...the best.

[Blair] The Iowa State Fair is ...

[Woman 1] ...one of the biggest events in Iowa every year.

[Blair] The Iowa State Fair is ...

[Man 1] ...very entertaining.

[Blair] I'm here with Teagan, a fellow redhead. Teagan, the Iowa State Fair is ...

[Teagan] ...fun.

[Blair] What do you like doing most here at the Iowa State Fair?

[Teagan] Rides.

[Blair] The Iowa State Fair is ...

[Girl 1] ...fun.

[Blair] What do you like to do at the fair?

[Girl 1] Ride rides.

[Blair] The Iowa State Fair is...

[Man 2] ...family fun.

[Blair] What do you and your family love doing most here at the Iowa State Fair? 

[Man 2] Eating all the food.

[Blair] The Iowa State Fair is...

[Man 3] ...greatest place in the state of Iowa.

[Blair] The Iowa State Fair is...

[Man 4] ...the best place to join family.

[Blair] The Iowa State fair is...

[Man 5] ...the best thing ever.

[Blair] The Iowa State fair is...

[Man 6] ...magical. 

[Paul] Welcome back, everyone. Can you tell the difference between a lilac and a hyacinth? Aaron Steil introduces us to some brave botanists who think they can name that flower.

[Aaron Steil] Here in the Ag building, there's a contest that really tests your floriculture knowledge. It's called the Flower Identification Contest. Let's go check it out.

I'm here with Barry Laws, the superintendent of the floriculture department here at the state fair. And Barry, how did this contest get started and what are the rules?

[Barry] Well, I inherited from my previous superintendent. It's pretty easy and it's pretty fun. Most people enjoy doing it. There really are no rules other than you can't use your phone.

[Aaron] What would you say is the level of difficulty that this contest has?

[Barry] Well, we try not to make it too difficult. We throw in a couple of whammies just in case we need to have a tie. Some people can get the whammies, some people can't.

[Aaron] I'm here with Jenny and Lizzie, who just participated in the contest. How do you think you did?

[Jenny Messer, Norwalk] I don't think I did very well. I had three flowers that I didn't know. One was tricky. Two were tricky. One, I have a bazillion in my garden. I just couldn't remember what it was called.

[Lizzie Pruisner, Norwalk] I played this supporting role, but I'm a blooming idiot because I love flowers. But that was a pretty tough competition, especially a couple of them real close. So lots of fun, though.

[Aaron] All right. I hope I did pretty well. I think I did.

[Barry] Okay. Let's go take a look.

[Aaron] All right, so let's check my sheet here. We're starting with number 1.

[Barry] Alright, Black Eyed Susan.

Number 2. Angelina. Number 3. Lysianthus.  Number 4. Cockscomb. Number 5 is a tricky one. It's Yarrow.
Number 6, Hosta. 7 is a dianthus. 8, Allium Millenium. Number 9 is Coral Bell Autumn Bride. Number 10 is Butterfly Weed. Number 11, Anemone. Number 12, Hydrangea. And the tiebreaker is Crepe Myrtle.

[Aaron] Crepe myrtle. That's a good tiebreaker. You don't see that in Iowa very often.

[Barry] You don't see it very often, but it does grow here.

[Aaron] Thank you so much. I think I actually did pretty well. So thankfully my horticultural credentials are not too challenged by this.

[Barry] Good thing.

[Aaron] Thank you so much.

[Barry] Thank you. 

[Blair Ryan] We're here at Pioneer Hall for the whistling competition. If I could whistle while I worked, I would, but I'm gonna leave that up to the contestants.

(Contestants whistling)

[Rowan Cornelius, Bondurant] I've been practicing for a long time.

[Blair] A long time. Have you ever been in this competition before?

[Rown] Yes.

[Blair] What'd you place?

[Rowan] I've been on it two times before, and I got 1st place both times.

(Contestants whistling)

[Scott Meredith, Lincoln, Nebraska] The lady said, "We need more people." Oh, God. I never whistled in front of anybody so well. 

[Blair] The last thing you probably expected was a blue ribbon.

[Scott] Absolutely was the last thing I expected.

(Contestants whistling)

[Greg Frisbee, "Ice Cream Show" Host] Nice to see everybody. Beautiful day out here at the fairgrounds. Everybody serving up three scoops of fun for everyone.

My name is Greg Frisbee, and I do the roving Ice Cream Show. But I tell you what, I've got here in my pocket, I've got my own ice cream bar. You see, now, there's no nuts on that ice cream bar because I'm nutty enough. 

(Greg tucks the ice cream bar inside the left side of his suit jacket)

Yeah. And it stays cold all day long because I have a cold heart. 

I've been performing for about 30 years, and I always try to have different themes of shows. Over the years, I've just done a comedy variety show. I've done the Rubber Chicken Show. So I wanted to create a roving character, and I love ice cream, so I thought, well, it'd be fun to combine the two things and do practical jokes and juggling and magic with an ice cream theme.

Unless you want to see five.

(Onlookers cheering)

Five is the most that I can do. You want to see the easy way or the hard way?

[Child 1] Hard way.

[Greg] Okay, here we go. Off the ground, upside down. 

There's 1,2, 1, 2. We're going for 5. 1,2,1,2. 

Perfect. Perfect. You all seem to like that trick. My downstairs neighbor hates that trick.

I scream, I'm looking for my missing ice cream. Ma'am, have you seen my missing ice cream?

[Onlooker] It's right there! 

[Greg] Right there? Where?

The show is a roving character. So it's not a typical show show where people stop and watch for a half an hour. I kind of hit people with 5 to 7 minutes here and there wherever I stop. 

And so I'll do interactivity, where I'll squirt fake chocolate syrup at them, or I'll scoop ice cream out of their hats. I'll do some juggling, some ball spinning tricks and things like that.

I thought, right inside the hat there. Do you see that? Did you know you had that in there?

Can I ask you a quick question? I'm looking for all my missing ice cream. Have you seen it anywhere?

(Boy shakes his head no)

You don't have it on you, do you? You mind if I do a quick check?

Hold your right arm up like this. Your other right arm. 

(Greg moves an empty ice cream scoop near a boy's armpit)

There we go. Yeah, underneath the armpit right there.

(Greg pulls the ice cream scoop full of vanilla ice cream back out) 

Did you know you had that under there?

(Boy shakes his head no and smiles)

Now, that's called Lindtberry ice cream. A little bit of pocket lint, a little bit of strawberry. It's delicious. It's the newest of the fair foods. How you doing out here, sir? 

Nice to see you. Well, hi, folks. Well, hi there. How are you doing? Nice to see you out here. 

You don't have any ice cream on that stroller, do you? Okay. Is there ice cream right there? There's no ice cream there. Can I just check? 

Let me. Let me just check. Did you know that was there? 

Uh oh. That's okay. No, no. There's one more scoop right there. You gotta look for it. 

See? There it is. I'll put it back. Okay. Sorry about that. 

Here we go. Take one giant step forward. That was a good step, folks. You can all help me out. Bit of a clapping rhythm, just like this. 

Make it loud. Make it proud. Here we go. We're going for more. Here we go.

(Onlookers clapping in rhythm) 

There's one. Don't move. There's two. Don't move, folks. He's got it. Not even looking. Standing on 1ft. And the crowd goes crazy. One, two. That was good. Three scoops of fun for everyone out here. We're having a fantastic time out here at the state fair.

[Paul] It’s down to the wire at the Riley Stage. The Championships are tomorrow! Here are the young Iowans advancing.

Sprouts Chammpions

• Arnav Dervesh, 10, Ankeny (Piano Solo)
• Mara Henn, 12, West Des Moines (Dance Solo)

Seniors Finalists

• Josiah Vos, 17, Sioux City (Piano Solo)
• Caleb Meiners, 19, Ottumwa (Contemporary Dance Solo)
• Anna Lu, 16, Johnston (Piano Solo)

Don’t forget, we’ll bring you the Talent Championships here on Iowa PBS Sunday, August 18 at 8pm.

As the saying goes, "patience is a virtue." Let's head over to the Elwell Family Food Center to see if persistence paid off for these homemade ice cream lovers.

[Philip Dicks, Competitive Events Organizer] The ice cream contest that we do, we call it an Iowa championship. But in reality, it's just a stage where the ordinary cook, the ordinary ice cream maker who's wanted to come and be part of an experience, can come here. That's what's exciting about us.

So we have a number of cooks today, probably 10 to 15 cooks that are going to be part of our ice cream special that we do.

[Boy 3] I'm helping my grandma. 

[Woman 3] So I bought this ice cream maker less than two months ago. So we'll see what happens? I made this. I made this strawberry cheesecake ice cream. I named it after my son. Maxed Out Cheesecake Delight.

[Philip] What they do is they come, they pick up their machines, they have the opportunity to bring their mixes from back home. Any add ins that they have as part of that, then they do the cranking and put it together. 

Then we bring it before four judges. 

But the bottom line is, we encourage people just to make good ice cream. The challenge was we had a number of people said, "Well, I'm not professional. I'm not able to do this." And we said, "No, this is where you come and you feel grandma's spirit. And that ice cream recipe that makes it all special for you.

But the fun thing is they get to come here and carry on that legacy. 

That's part of what we do, celebrate who we are and the legacy that we bring with us as Iowans who love homemade ice cream.

(Suspenseful music playing)

(A bow hits a target)

[Zach Benttine, Archery Education and Outreach Coordinator] So we're at the DNR property. This year, we actually opened a brand new building. This will be used for archery. The next year will be a pellet gun or air rifle. And then back to archery. We alternate every other year. Outside of the fair it will be used for archery classes, it'll be used for hunter education classes, and also storage for our archery in the schools program.

So it's been. It's been amazing. Normally, we average about 500 people a day. I know Saturday and Sunday being record days of the fair. I counted on Sunday, and we went through a 1,000 people, 3 people every minute.

During the fair it's free. It's free for everybody. The same little boy has been here four days in a row, and I'll tell you, he's shooting all thirties now because he just absolutely loves it. You know, we've had people that have never shot a bow before. I've had some 85 year old people come up and they, "Can I do this?" Its for every age. 

Nine is the earliest, but after that, it's everybody can shoot.

[Blair Ryan] All right, Lydia, we're here. We're doing archery. First of all, what is archery? What am I doing today? 

[Lydia Cook, Indianola] You're gonna be shooting a bow at the targets. 

Shooting a bow is a lot harder than it looks, which is kind of surprising to most people.

And this is our shooting line.

[Blair] All right.

[Lydia] And you're gonna stand on that side and make your toes face me. Straddle yellow line. 

[Blair] Okay. Okay.

[Lydia] So I help them learn how to put an arrow on a bow properly. It's called knocking.

Knock it under this and set it on the arrow. Now, we do not split finger our bows. So you put all three underneath.

[Blair] All three underneath. Pull back...

[Lydia] ...to the corner of your mouth...

[Blair] ...and release.

[Lydia] How to keep their arms straight.

[Blair] Like this?

That was great!

[Lydia] That was great.

[Blair] Thank you.

[Lydia] Archery is not a well known sport, but it is one of my favorite sports. And you don't have to be naturally talented in it. You can learn. I am not a very athletic person, but I can shoot pretty well. It's a very supportive group of people. 

[Zach] More people shoot target than hunt. And a bow, like the Matthews Genesis that we're using today, I can shoot it and I can give it to a 4th grader without touching anything on the bow and they can shoot it. 

So I actually do the national arch in the schools program. In Iowa, we have 260 schools that teach the 10 hour in school curriculum. Last year we had 4753 kids participate in one after school event. It means the world to me. This is something that my dad introduced me to. I was born on the opening day of deer season. So I just kind of feel like I pretty much born with a bow in my hand. And getting to show people what archery, how much it means to me. So getting to see the enjoyment that me and my dad shared, seeing the smiles when they hit the target. I have the greatest job in the world.

(Crowd cheering)

[Paul Yeager] We've had a lot of great events at the Iowa State Fair. It's time for one big last celebration. It's time to find out. See all this hard work. We've got lots of tears, but hopefully lots of money. It's time for the Sale of Champions.

We begin with the Grand Champion 4-H Market Steer. Enter Mason Shalla again.

Sold, $175,000. That is an all time, all species record. 

Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Market Steer is Shay Rogders from Searsboro. 

Sold for $50,000.

And now Cole Reynolds of Auburn, the Grand Champion 4-H Market Heifer. 

Brings $71,000. 

Here's Hendrix Kalvig of Creston and the Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Market Heifer.

Sold for a record $57,500.

The Grand Champion FFA Market Hog is Taylor Brinning of Keota. 

9th time in the ring for this family and they bring a whopping $32,500.

Reserve Grand Champion FFA Market Hog is Hayden Fox from Kanawha. 

Sold for $23,500.

Mara White of Esterville brings in the Grand Champion 4-H Market Hog.

You betting another new record. $61,500 on that sale. 

Joe Stien of Watkins and the Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Market Hog. 

Sold for $32,000. 

Kiley Langley of Wilton and the Grand Champion FFA Market Lamb. 

Oh, get this. Another record. $32,500.

Riley Walker of Webster City brings in the Reserve Grand Champion FFA Market Lamb. 

Sold for $20,000. 

(On screen - Grand Champion 4-H Market Lamb, Sawyer Morrical of Clarion)

Sawyer's proud and should be proud of for a sale of $21,000.

Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Market Lamb. 

Sam Schmillen of Marcus. 7th year in the ring. $14,000 for that lamb.

Now to the FFA Meat Goat Grand Champion from Avery Shalla of Riverside. 

Sold $25,000.

[Auctioneer] It's okay to be excited Ernie. I'd be excited for that man, too. I got 30 now. One. I got 30 now to get. How many? $31. Sold it. $30,000.

(On Screen - Grand Champion 4-H Meat Goat. Cael Howell of Columbus Junction)

[Paul] A new record on that sale for $30,000.

Grand Champion 4-H Market Broilers. Here's Jackson Pritzen of Adel. 

Sold for $15,000. A record.

And our last entrant into the ring is the Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Market Broilers. Jacie Hoeg of Wapello.

Sold for $8,500.

$669,000 is your total from today's sale. That's the second highest ever. Congratulations to all.

[Paul] And that wraps up our final evening of Iowa State Fair coverage. It has been so much fun to bring you the highlights of the Iowa State Fair. But it's not over. The fair lives on in the digital realm. You can relive the magic by checking out our website, our YouTube channel and the PBS app, in addition to following our Facebook and Instagram accounts. You’ll find lots of great state fair fun.

There are several ways you can engage with us about our beloved state fair...anytime, and anywhere.

Thanks again for joining us on this wonderful Iowa State Fair journey. It’s an honor and a pleasure to be a part of this incredible and long standing tradition. Bill - we look forward to having you back next year.

For all of us here at Iowa PBS, I’m Paul Yeager. And as the Riley's would say and have for so many years, we hope you had fun at the fair.

(Credits roll on screen)

FAIR

Host
Paul Yeager

Executive Producer
Theresa Knight

Editors/Production Assistants
Julie Knutson
Sean Ingrassia

Segment Producers
Judy Blank
Patrick Boberg
Dan Bolsem
Laurel Bower
Tyler Brinegar
Josh Buettner
Andrea Coyle
Sarah Currier
Travis Graven
Deb Herbold
Bryon Houlgrave
Emily Kestel
Colleen Bradford Krantz
Kelsey Kremer
David Miller
Rachel Mummey
John Torpy
Peter Tubbs
Paul Yeager

Videographers
Matt Clark
Darrin Clouse
Scott Faine
Eric Gooden
Kenny Knutson
Adam Welch

Editors
Neal Kyer
Kevin Rivers

Audio
David Feingold
Sean Ingrassia

Technical Director
Chad Aubrey
Neal Kyer

Camera
Melanie Campbell
Sarah Currier
Abbie McLaren
Theo Whitehead

Engineer in Charge
Kevin Rivers

Field Reporters
Abby Brown
Travis Graven
Brooke Kohlsdorf
Dana Lain Formaro
Charity Nebbe
Blair Ryan
Aaron Steil

Motion Graphics
Bo Dodge
Brent Willett

Production Assistance
Tiffany Clouse

Production Supervisor
Chad Aubrey

Graphics
Kate Bloomburg
Joe Bustad

Creative Director
Alisa Dodge

Digital Team
Caleb Brothers
Danny Engesser
Abby Friedmeyer
Randy Garza
Bryon Houlgrave

Communications Team
Matt Clark
Bo Dodge
Gillian Hiscocks
Hayley Schaefer
Dan Wardell

Communications Manager
Sarah Lewis

Engagement Manager
Caryline Clark

Director of Communications
Susan Ramsey

Director of Emerging Media
Taylor Shore

Executive Director & General Manager
Andrew Batt

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