Fair 2022 – Monday, August 15

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♪♪

Hi, everyone. I'm Bill Riley, and welcome to Fair 2022. The great Iowa State Fair is happening all around us as we bring you our 51st year of coverage here at Iowa PBS. Tonight kicks off a full week of Iowa State Fair highlights and everything from the livestock, contests, to the music, to the food and the fun. Oh, did I mention the food? Yeah, there's a bunch of food out here. We're going to bring you a full hour of the very best our state fair has to offer. 

♪♪

Coming up, we'll find out how much kids know about farming on the Wheels of Agriculture Game Show. Our own Travis Graven will sample some of the fair's most intriguing new foods. And we'll get to meet the 2022 Iowa State Fair Queen. I just can't wait for you to see what we have in store for you tonight. So let's get started with the event that kicks off our coverage every year just as it marks the beginning of every state fair. Yep, it's the Iowa State Fair Parade. 

♪♪ 

PAUL YEAGER: Denny and Candy Elwell served as this year’s parade marshals.

What does it mean to be grand marshals of the parade?

DENNY ELWELL: I’ve been coming to this fair since I was 5 years old. So it's -- I think it's a nice thing. I just say it's a nice thing. I've been to many fair things and it's nice to be recognized in this fashion. 

PAUL: Are you excited about being in the front of the line? 

CANDY ELWELL: Yes, I am. I'm so humbled to have this opportunity to represent our fair like we're doing. And our parade is just awesome. 

♪♪ ♪♪ 

PAUL: Reigning Iowa State Fair Queen is McKenna Henrich of Plymouth County. You're coming to the end of your reign, what did you enjoy most this year? 

MCKENNA: I definitely loved meeting people, seeing people from different walks of life and learning what they love about the fair, it's been amazing. 

PAUL: You have the girls warming up to be your replacement. But what about the ones who are behind them? Talk to those young women who might be watching. Give them some inspiration about what they can do to maybe be in your spot someday. 

MCKENNA: I think it starts when you're younger. You have to have a passion or love for what you do. If you don't, why do it? Starting young, remembering what dedicates you and what you love. So for me, it was starting out when I was in FFA as an 8th grader. So here I am now, and I followed that passion through and bringing me into something that can bring me farther in life. 

♪♪ ♪♪ 

PARADE CLOWN: We're doing high fives? High fives! 

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 

TRAVIS GRAVEN: A lot of fairgoers say one of the main reasons they come to the fair each year is for the food. And I'm no different. Each year dozens of new foods debut here at the fair and 2022 is no different.  So let’s sample something that I’m sure everyone is looking forward to — the deep fried SPAM curds. 

What exactly goes into a SPAM curd? 

VENDOR: Those curds are traditional flavored spam. We bread them, batter them, deep fry them. That's it. 

TRAVIS: All right. Easy enough. 

VENDOR: That's right. Enjoy. 

TRAVIS: Dip it in the mayo and ketchup. That's pretty good. Not over the top, but a nice SPAM treat. And fried is the best way to have it. All right. Onto the next. 

Normally I'm not a big fan of sweet things with meat, but I do love bacon. I like apples.  And I like waffles, so let's try the apple bacon waffles. Describe for me what the apple bacon waffle is. 

VENDOR: It is a waffle batter with bacon bits inside, topped with apple pie filling, bacon bits, and syrup. 

TRAVIS: All right. The moment of truth. Thank you. Got to get a little bit of all of this goodness. This is not going to be graceful. That is a bomb of flavor. It really all works together. I'm surprised. Sorry. I'm talking with my mouth full, but this is pretty good. All right, mom. I'm cleaning my plate. Let's let the culinary marathon continue. 

Coleslaw is a staple of any picnic in Iowa, but let's kick it up a few notches and see how they do it in the islands. 

VENDOR: This is our island coleslaw with mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple. It’s a mayo base topped with teriyaki chicken and garnished with macadamia nuts and a sriracha glaze. 

TRAVIS: It's really, really good. I'm a big fan of coleslaw and teriyaki chicken. I like all these ingredients but never would have thought to put them all together. It works. I feel like this is enough health food. Let's move onto the next one. 

All right, it seems the very definition of state fair food is a corn dog, but I'm not a big fan of hot dogs, so maybe I should try rattle snake? 

Hello. I'm going to be adventurous and try the rattle snake corn dog. 

VENDOR: Would you like the venom sauce on it? It's an avocado salsa with a really cool name.

TRAVIS: Sounds good to me. 

The moment of truth. It’s rattle snake sausage so it has a bit of spice, seasoning to it. And that sauce, that venom sauce, it's got a kick. It's really pretty good. Kind of a state fair corn dog I can get behind. 

FAIRGOER: Oh, looks really good. I absolutely love rattle snake. 

TRAVIS: So good, you had to go in for a second? 

FAIRGOER: This is my second one, uh-huh. 

TRAVIS: I am almost stuffed. But I have saved a little bit of room for dessert, and I think I see funnel cakes up the way. 

Hello. Can I try Nana’s Gooey Butter Funnel Cake? 

VENDOR: You sure can. 

TRAVIS: All right. This starts with funnel cake, which you can't go wrong with. And then it has cream cheese frosting and cookie butter drizzled over the top of it. That's ooey gooey goodness. That is a dessert to finish everything off. 

HOPE DeREGNIER: I've had llamas in the Iowa State Fair for four years. One of my jobs in 2017 was to help unload and stall llamas. When my parents picked me up, I said, “We need to have these.” Later that year, I sold my steer and I bought three llamas. 

♪♪ 

[Text on screen: Through the summer, kids and families compete in llama shows across the state. Many of them will end their summer at the Iowa State Fair.]

MADDIE LANE: So today we have a llama show going on. We have a bunch of people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska. And you have a bunch of youth, you have adults, you have just a whole variation of people. 

[ Applause ] 

And everyone loves it here, so everyone kind of gets along very well. And it's just super fun to be around here. 

JUDGE: Okay, walk-through. First obstacle, bring your llama in here. I want you to pick up and check the right front foot. 

JUDGE: This is a pack course, and the obstacles that are in this course are what simulate what you would do if you took your llama into the wilderness packing. 

CONTESTANT #142: There's multiple packs. There's a training pack that's a lot cheaper. So there's two pockets. There's a bigger one, and then a smaller one. You can fit random stuff in there. 

ANNA REESE: So there's those three different classes. There's the pack class, which is what we've been doing, and then they have obstacle and PR. Finding the right llama is part of the thing because not all llamas are the same for every job. So you have llamas that are good guards, so they take care of the flak floc of sheep. Some llamas are good at PR. Some animals are good at stuff like this. Some llamas just plain don't want to do any of it. 

MADDIE LANE: It's a lot. There's a lot of patience that goes into it. It's really fun just to watch other animals progress, like, your friend's llamas, they go from being the most stubborn to winning first place. It's very fun. It's really cool to watch. 

MOM: I think it's something that keeps the kids -- for me personally, my kids, it gives them an outlet to do things, to work with them, to show how responsible they can be, to keep them out of trouble when they're growing up. 

IRENE GERWIG: Well, the biggest events for us exhibitors is to come in and show our animals for showmanship and performance. 

We're a pretty big community. We consider ourselves a llama family. A lot of us with llamas got the got started in 4H during the county fair. From there there might have been a breeder helping the youth at the county fairs and wanting them to go to regional shows. So the kids started going the regional shows and started getting to know kids from the other counties. 

CONTESTANT #112: I like their personalities. When I’ve had a bad day at school or something, when I come home and they will always greet me at the fence. 

[Llama peeks around contestant and stares into the camera.]

This is Adonis, by the way. 

IRENE GERWIG: I love just watching them from my kitchen window. 

ANNA REESE: They're just really intriguing and unique animals. The way that they learn just really, I don't know. They've captivated my heart. 

IRENE GERWIG: I invite you to come see the llamas. We're there the last weekend of the state fair. Come by, come talk to us. We all like to talk to the public about our llamas. If you want to pet one, there's always somebody that will let you pet one of the llamas. 

CONTESTANT #139: And I just love it so much. I love the people I show with and I most importantly love my llama. 

BILL RILEY: This year we're going to have a lot of fun with some state fair trivia. So tonight's question is in the form of a picture. Take a look at the photo and see if you can figure out where at the fair you might see this. Is it in the 4H Building? The Jacobson Exhibition Center, the Youth Inn, or the Cattle Barn? We're going to bring you the answer a little later in the show. 

Speaking of trivia, Abby Brown found some quick-witted young people testing their knowledge at the Wheels of Agriculture. 

ABBY BROWN: Welcome to the game of trivia where you’ve got to be fast, knowledgeable, and it really helps if you bring your family. 

Does anybody know what agricultural means? 

KIDS: No. 

ABBY: What animal lives on a farm? 

KIDS: Cows. Pig. 

ABBY: Ladies, you have a unique advantage today on the trivia component because you are involved in a very specific group. 

KIDS: 4H. 

ABBY: Do you feel like you can win? 

KIDS: Yes.

ABBY: All right. 

TIM BLASTER: Here we go. Five-point spin. If you can think of three things that you might see inside of a barn, hit your big red button and tell me. Team number one chimed in first. Give me three things you might find in a barn. 

TEAM 1: Hay.  A pig.  And a horse. 

TIM: A horse, of course. Very good, five points, team one. Go give it a spin. 

ABBY: Tim, tell me about Wheels of Agriculture. 

TIM: It's a bundle of fun for all ages. I really wanted this to be a family show so that anyone of any age can participate in it. 

TIM: All right, team three, what do you think that is? 

TEAM 3: A chain saw. 

TIM: A chain saw is correct. Next, give it a spin. 

So the questions you never know what kind of questions we're going to ask and how many points it's going to be worth. 

Can anyone tell me, what do the 4Hs stand for? 

If they get it right, the points go on their score. If they get it wrong, we take it out to the audience. 

AUDIENCE: Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.

TIM: Boom, there you go. And what prop would you like? Flying chicken, pooping pig or cow bell or squirting cow? 

See if you know what this is?

[Buzzer Sounds]

Team one, what is that? 

[Song Plays]

TEAM 1: “Old McDonald Had a Farm.”

TIM: Of course he did. Correct, very good, ten points. Team number one got it right away. 

What tool isn't that being used? 

TEAM 3: A hammer? 

TIM: A hammer. You nailed it. Very good. 

This is my first time at the Iowa State Fair and I'm thrilled to be here. 

ABBY: Well, welcome. You have special interest in the Iowa State Fair this year, correct? 

TIM: Yes, my son just graduated from the University of Iowa and he helped me write and research the questions. We're putting his creative writing degree to use. 

TIM: By the way have you folks heard the rumor about butter? No, well I’m not going to spread it then. 

DOUG BLASTER: No, I did not grow up in Iowa. 

ABBY: But you now have a forever link to Iowa, right?

DOUG: Just graduated University of Iowa, absolutely loved it there. So grateful to be in Iowa again. 

TIM: One pound of butter, how many pounds of milk does it take, 5, 11, or 21 pounds? 

Team 2 chimed in early. What do you think? 5, 11, or 21 pounds?

TEAM 2: 21. 

TIM: Boom, you got it. Very good. 

About 2016, 2017, I really identified the need for people to be more aware about agriculture. A lot of the people that come to these fairs don't know a lot about agriculture, so we decided to put a show together that would involve agricultural awareness. 

The louder you clap, the more she's going to grab out of the air. Keep her pumped up, folks. 

We are here to make people laugh as well as become aware of the agriculture that's around them and appreciate the farmers that grow all of our food. 

Thank you so much. We hope you enjoyed the wheels of agriculture game show. Come back and see us again sometime. On behalf of Doug and myself, God bless, everybody. 

VOICEOVER: A great number of buildings and structures have come and gone at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Like the Exposition Building, a stately, white marvel that sat atop what we now call Expo Hill. The wooden roller coaster which was a permanent attraction until just after World War II. But one attraction has stood the test of time and has remained a staple for thousands of fairgoers for over 100 years. Ye Old Mill. 

TRACY SHEDD: There's somewhere around 50,000 people that ride through this here at the fair. The kids, adults, people who met here that this was the first date they went on.

VOICEOVER: Ye Old Mill is the fair's oldest amusement ride dating from 1921. If you've never ridden Ye Old Mill, it floats on waterways. The water is propelled by a large paddle wheel and the boats meander through a dark tunnel, gently knocking against the sides and sometimes even against other boats. Generation after generation have enjoyed the amusement. For some, it's as much as a tradition as the big slide or corn dogs. 

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: Memories, memories, the old mill, I don't think there's an Iowan who has not been here at the fair and taken a trip on the old mill. It's beautiful and it's romantic. 

VOICEOVER: Like Pioneer Hall or Grandfather's Barn, the mill has stood the test of time. In the mid-1990s, the fate of the century-old amusement ride was up in the air. The day the old mill fell down ironically was the day we were planning to fix it. 

VOICEOVER: In 1996, the mill had been scheduled for refurbishment, but earlier in the spring, the wind got hold of the attraction before the fair workers did. 

ED LAMB: It was a windy day, 40 miles an hour from the south. Unfortunately the wind got from the south and blew up underneath the roof area and lifted the building up slightly. When it lifted it up, it lifted it off the posts and then it caught the back wall and just literally pushed the building over and collapsed it. We all jerked our head around and down she went. 

VOICEOVER: All was not lost. After a short period to clean up the debris, plans were made to replicate the structure first introduced to fairgoers in 1921. The wheel house and canal were completely reconstructed to the exact specifications of the original. The boats were replaced to provide a smoother ride. The bright red paddle wheel still remains and is the only vestige of the original mill. While the ride has seen changes over the last 100 years, its essence remains the same. It's an amusement, it's a tradition, it's a staple of the Iowa State Fair. 

TRACY SHEDD: Why does everybody ride this? Because it really doesn't change. It's tradition. They go to the same food stand they ate before. They go through the Agriculture Building. They have a pork chop on a stick. They ride the old mill and it's just your traditional fair. 

CHARITY NEBBE: Heaven knows I love to eat my way across the state fair, and it is always fun to try the new thing. But you have to give credit to the classics, like the corn dog, funnel cake, and, of course, state fair lemonade. 

I'm here with Diane Perry. Diane, this is a real true family business with a whole lot of legacy to it. 

DIANE: Yes, it does, yeah. 

CHARITY: It started in 1948. Tell me about it. 

DIANE: My grandmother started it in 1948 and she passed it onto my mom. And we just lost my mom in December. 

CHARITY’: I’m so sorry. 

DIANE: So now it's mine. Then it will be my son's and my grandson's. 

CHARITY: Why isn't it called Mom's Old Fashioned Lemonade?

DIANE: Well, you know, it's always been Dad's. I have no idea about that one. 

CHARITY: I'm here with Alissa who's going to teach me how to make great state fair lemonade. 

ALISSA: We're just going to do half a lemon and a quarter of an orange. Just grab a scoop of sugar and then we're going to go over here. And so we just crush it until it's for the most part pulpy and the sugar is combined with the fruit. 

CHARITY: We fill it all the way up with ice. 

Any words of wisdom for me to not leak all over the place? 

ALISSA: Just try to keep them tight. Be confident. 

Perfect. You made lemonade. 

CHARITY: All right! Hooray. 

DIANE: We're not out here to make money and I think there's a lot of us out here that are not. 

CHARITY: Apparently I make a mean lemonade. 

If you're not out here to make money, what are you here for? 

DIANE: The nostalgia, I think. There's so many families that struggle. We just want to make it the same as it was last year so they can enjoy a little bit of the fair. 

CHARITY: Diane, thank you. 

DIANE: You're welcome. Thank you. 

♪♪ 

BILL RILEY: When you visit the fair, do you enter any of the contests? There are so many choices. Here are some of the top winners.

Dollhouses and Miniatures

Best in Show, Dollhouse

• Paul Block, Stanhope

Best in Show, Miniature Rooms

• Gloria Janssen-Jensen, Adel

Wood Carving - Jewelry

• 1st Place: Warren Verdeck, Wanke
• 2nd Place: Melvin D. Shivvers, Des Moines
• 3rd Place: David Lammers, Sioux Center

Wood Carving - Wood Burning

• 1st Place: Janice Brown, Runnells
• 2nd Place: Audrey Rex, Newton
• 2rd Place: Audrey Rex, Newton

Wood Carving - Youth Ages 13-18

• 1st Place: Addison Beane, Oskaloosa
• 2nd Place: Simon Frohock, Altoona
• 3rd Place: Addison Beane, Oskaloosa

Horseshoe Pitching - Open Singles Class A

• 1st Place: Kristy Klejch, Creston
• 2nd Place: Ron Rowley, West Des Moines
• 3rd Place: Tom Cranston, Keswick

Horseshoe Pitching - Open Singles Class B

• 1st Place: Brandon DeBord, Adel
• 2nd Place: Rick Cook, Des Moines
• 3rd Place: Russell Wiese, Roland
• 4th Place: Caleb Cook, Des Moines

Horseshoe Pitching - Open Singles Class C

• 1st Place: Stephen Schnackel, Des Moines
• 2nd Place: Cooper Wiese, Roland
• 3rd Place: Rebekah Schnackel, Des Moines

Apiary - Observation Hive

• 1st Place: The Holton Homestead, Elkhart
• 2nd Place: Doyle W. Kincy, Urbandale
• 3rd Place: Back Forty Honey, Grinnell

Apiary - White Extracted Honey

• 2nd Place: Kimberly Stieler, Nevada
• 3rd Place: Dan Mahoney, Williamsburg
• 4th Place: Storybrook Honey, Charles City

Apiary - Light Amber Extracted Honey

• 1st Place: Honey Hollow Apiary & Gardens
• 2nd Place: Daniel Bosman, Des Moines
• 3rd Place: Back Forty Honey, Grinnell

Best Bagger Contest

• 1st Place: Nolan McGregor, Sergeant Bluff
• 2nd Place: Cameron Voss, Jefferson
• 3rd Place: Harrison Dahl, Denison
• 4th Place: Kade Mauk, Waukee

 ♪♪

BILL: Well, it’s time for us to take a short break. When we come back, we'll have entertainment that's just your size. You can immerse yourself in the tiny world of doll houses and miniatures. And then marvel at the astonishing girth of this year's really big animals. We'll meet the 2022 Iowa State Fair Queen. So don't go far. We'll be right back with all that and much more from the great Iowa State Fair right here on Iowa PBS. 

There were some amazing talent at the Riley Stage today. Here are the young Iowans advancing from today’s competition.

Sprouts Semifinalists

• Dance Trio: Rio Slaughter, 7, Clive; Renzo Slaughter, 7, Clive; Selena Williams, 8, Waukee
• Contemporary Dance Solo: Abbie Atkinson, 11, Bloomfield
• Vocal Solo: Corban McHone, 12, Fort Dodge
• Vocal and Guitar Solo: Lake Schrage, 12, Grundy Center
• Contemporary Dance Solo: Kara Hoover, 10, Mount Pleasant

Seniors Semifinalists

• Solo Tap Dance: Brooklyn Frantz, 14, Walcott
• Vocal Solo: Rylie Shettler, 22, Sigourney
• Vocal and Trumpet Solo: Isaac Morlan, 18, Cedar Falls
• Lyrical Dance: Emma Tollari, 17, Altoona
• Dance Solo: Nathan Pobanz, 18, Atlantic
• Vocal and Piano Solo: Lucy Marshall, 14, Bettendorf

♪♪ ♪♪ 

We’ll bring you the Iowa State Fair Talent Championships Sunday, August 21 at 8:00 p.m.

Welcome back, everybody, to our first night of Fair 2022. Are you fascinated by people who can do several things at once? The person we're about to meet can play piano, sing, and cruise around the fair, all at the same time. Let's check it out. 

♪♪ ♪♪ 

JIM RIPP: Got to help me out with the words. I tend to forget them. 

♪ Just a small town girl ♪♪ 

You sing it. ♪ 

CROWD: Living in a lonely world ♪ 

JIM: My name is Jim Ripp from Madison, Wisconsin. Through dueling pianos and the circuit there, I hooked up with Strolling Pianos and have been doing it ever since. 

♪ Why do you build me up, butter cup baby ♪  ♪ Just to let me down and mess me around ♪  ♪ And then worst of all you never call baby when you say you will ♪  ♪ But I love you still I need you ♪  ♪ More than anything darling ♪  ♪ You know that I have from the start ♪  ♪ So build me up, butter cup don't break my heart ♪

Oh, I absolutely love it. As soon as I start or pull out, the phones are out. Everybody's -- big smile on their face and grabbing their friends, having everybody look. I just love it. I get more entertainment out of it probably than they do. 

 ♪ Brown-eyed girl ♪  ♪ You my brown-eyed girl ♪ 

THEODORE NELSON: So I am a technician with The Strolling Piano. I supervise while we're out here on site and when we're back home in Florida. I help build and maintain our multiple units that we have now 

♪ Brown-eyed girl ♪

THEODORE: Without giving away too much, obviously, it's a lot of electronic components. Obviously you can see a microphone, speakers, keyboard. So yeah, that's a big thing figure out we have a TV on the front so if we need to do bulletins or a sponsorship, we can do that too. She lights up really pretty at night. 

♪ Life goes on, la la la la life goes on ♪ 

JIM: It's a lot of getting the crowd to interact with you. Definitely get some requests. I ask them to sing along when they can, take over the lyrics. 

♪♪ ♪♪ 

PRODUCER: $1 million question I keep getting, how does it steer? 

JIM: That's something — that's kind of the secret sauce that makes it magical to everybody, and that's the question that literally everybody wants to know. But it's like any secret sauce. We keep it to ourselves.

♪♪

THEODORE: We're here at the fair every single day from start to finish. We are currently starting about 4:00 and we end at around 8:00, 8:30, so feel free to come on down any evening and check us out. 

♪ And you don't mess around with Jim do do do ♪ 

JIM: Iowa State Fair, we've never been here. Strolling Pianos have seen never been here. Love it, absolutely love it so far. I've done several state fairs. This is beautiful here. It's fun, everybody is in a good mood, smiles everywhere, great people, beautiful place. 

DANA LAIN: These submissions may be tiny, but this contest is always huge. 

♪♪ 

So why are you competing today in this contest? 

ANNIE MOTTAZ: Well, we've been doing this for a little while. We have my sister's mother-in-law started us with doll houses and I got hooked from the very beginning. And I just love it. This has been in my head for probably four or five years. Well, my doll house is based on all my favorite scary movies and books and just anything that has to do with something scary. 

ETHAN GONZALEZ: So this is a LEGO model of Frank Lloyd Wright’s hotel in Mason City, Iowa, called the Historic Park Inn. It's the last remaining hotel that he's designed in the world. 

DANA: Why choose such an iconic Iowa landmark? 

ETHAN: I have a really big love for Iowa, the state I'm from. I just love it here and it's amazing we have so many amazing things here within our own state. We have so much to offer to the rest of the world and to the rest of the country. 

♪♪ 

LORI BAUER: I’m not sure. A lot of it is just childhood memories. We have people build the farmhouse they grew up in. We have people who, you know, build the house they wish they owned. You have people who just do different. 

DARIAN HEALY: A doll house can mean a lot of things for a lot of people. I like to pretend like a family lives there and I have things in the doll house that would be in their home and I like to picture what kind of people they would be. 

JEFRI PALERMO: That's the fun part, is finding just junk around your house that you can transform. People don't know that until you point it out. It's really satisfying. 

FAIRGOER: I like coming down and just seeing people as they're putting their things up. I love it. 

SARAH RUBACH: I like to see what everybody else is doing and all the different creative ways and ideas that people come up with for how to decorate houses. 

PARTICIPANT: Art teacher for 33 years. Did this big painting and she did a miniature of it. That's one of my favorite parts of the whole thing. 

ETHAN: Favorite part is seeing the creativity from everyone else and the different mediums and the different designs that people use. There's Halloween, there's real life, there's so many great things to see from all different types of miniatures. 

♪♪ 

DANA: Detailed and realistic, and impossible small designs, these crafts people are not just making miniatures, but they're making entire worlds. 

♪♪ 

CONTEST ANNOUNCER DON HUMMEL: This is Iowa State Fair Big Ram Contest. We have six entries this year. They'll bring them out one at a time, take them over and weigh them, bring them back and stand them up here, and then announce our winners. 

First, we need Ben Heckart with his Corriedale. 

♪♪ 

282 pounds. 

All right. Next up, we need Thiesen Columbias with their Columbia ram. 

218 pounds. 

All right. I need Mona Baker and her Suffolk, please. Mona Baker’s 4-year-old Suffolk ram weighs 413 pounds. 

Now we need Jason Seelow’s Rambouillet. Jason's 4-year-old ram weighed 295 pounds. 

Next up we have Abby Willson. Abby's ram weighs 428 pounds. Abby is from Shell Rock, Iowa. 

Our last ram is a Suffolk ram from Fisher Farms, out of Mercer, Missouri. All right. Fisher Farms, 6-year-old Suffolk ram, 456.5 pounds. 

Our champion biggest ram this year at the Iowa State Fair 2022 will be Fisher Farm's 6-year-old ram at 456 pounds. 

He's tall, he has a lot of frame to him. He's older which helps him to weigh more. If you're serious about winning this contest, you about have to keep a ram around just for the contest and not let him do a lot of breeding because when a ram is breeding, he's chasing yews and not eating a lot and he'll lose a lot of weight. 

JIM FISHER: A little bit at a time. Just like anything, too much of something is not always good. You got to take your time, go easy with them, maintain their feed, have the right ration, keep them comfortable. A lot of things could still go wrong. 

♪♪ 

CONTEST ANNOUNCER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We'd like to welcome you to the 2022 World's Biggest Boar Contest at the Iowa State Fair. This boar is Purdy Boy. He’s named after Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy who wanted to be here today but couldn't miss practice with the San Francisco 49ers. He's a Chester White, 6 years old and he’s never been shown before. 1,156 pounds. 

Our next entry is Pee-Wee. This boar is a Hereford boar exhibited by Marv Rietema and Owen Sandbulte from Sioux Center. For the last two years these gentlemen have exhibited the reserve champion boar. If he doesn't like what they're feeding him, he gets upset and dumps his feed pan. 1,300 pounds. 

[ Cheers ] 

That is 35 pounds short of a record. 

ERNIE BARNES: I really think it got down to feed cost. Feed is extremely high right now. These boars will eat 25 to 30 pounds of feed a day. You do that for 100 days, that's quite a bit of money. 

MARV RIETEMA: He likes milk and doughnuts. Long John supreme filler is his favorite. I got a friend with a dairy. He has hospital milk and so we gave him jersey. He likes jersey because of high butter fat. 

JOHN PUTNY: Good evening, everybody. I'm John Putny. Welcome to the 2022 Super Bowl Contest. 

[ Cheers ] 

Here comes Big John. Big John weighs 2,488 pounds. 

He's 3-year-old Charolais bull. He was born and raised on their farm in New Virginia. His name is Mean Gene. Mean Gene weighs 2,728 pounds. 

[ Cheers ] 

And the bull's name is Albert. Albert was born at Dreher Angus Farms in the spring of 2017. Albert for Audubon weighs 3,042 pounds. 

[ Cheers and Applause ] 

BILL RILEY: And now, the answer to our trivia question. Where at the fair would you see this window? Is it in the 4H building, the Jacobson Exhibition Center, the Youth Inn or the Cattle Barn? The answer is the Youth Inn. Completed in 1942, the Oman Family Youth Inn is the home to hundreds of young exhibitors during the fair every year. Those exhibitors bring thousands of fun to the fair. So let's head over to the Youth Inn and check out the 4H Clothing and Style Show. 

♪♪ 

ANNOUNCER: Ellie Carlson, Marshall County, senior clothing selection. 

♪♪ 

Madison Cray, Johnson County, $15 challenge. 

BONNIE DALAGER: I’m Bonnie Dalager, I work at the Iowa 4H Youth Development Program. This event is the wardrobe clothing event, which is our showcase opportunity for young people in the clothing project area. We have three categories or classes that youth can participate in. One is called clothing selection, which means they set a goal for their outfit and they put that outfit together. And the judges are looking for things like how did they achieve their goal by using things like design elements and their knowledge about fabric and care of their clothing. We also have a $15 challenge, which is a reuse type of class. They get to go out and look for second-hand clothing that totals less than $15 for their entire outfit. And then we have another class called fashion review. This is where young people who are really interested in sewing and designing clothing actually make their own garment and show that to the judges. 

RIO JOHNSON: This is the clothing selection category. It's my new outfit that I purchased. I'm wearing these flowing pants that I fell in love with. I tied it in with the white shirt and scarf and hat. This is my 8th year for my county and my 3rd year here. I love doing it because I like the one-on-one judging with the judge. And I love fashion, so it's really fun to do and I really like sewing too. 

[ Applause ] 

♪♪ 

BONNIE: We have about 160 youth participants this year from all over the state of Iowa. Our wardrobe clothing event has been with the Iowa State 4H Youth Development Program for many years. We actually used to have it in other locations in Des Moines and at the Iowa State University campus. This is our 5th year back at the Iowa State Fair grounds. 

MATTHEW MIKLES: I’m in fashion view, this is my first year participating. My club leader was, like, “No guys do it. You get to walk and get this outfit,” and sure enough I did. This year it's been great. The Polk County Fair was fun. I had all these poses planned out and it was a lot of fun meeting everyone from all different places. I definitely think I'll do this again. We're talking about a partnership outfit. That would be fun. 

BONNIE: Justine Weir, Polk County. 

[ Applause ] 

BONNIE: I think of the thing that's really fun about this program is that really anyone can be a part of this. So whether they're just starting out in the clothing project area or if they really involved and they would like to go into design and see themselves in a career, this is really an opportunity for everyone to participate and have a great learning and positive experience. 

♪♪ 

DAVID GRAHAM: My name is David. 

TOBIN RENWICK: And my name is Tobin. 

DAVID: And Together we formed the Red Trouser Show, which is an acrobatic, fire-juggling, and comedy show. Starting at the beginning, we have some kind of simple acrobatic warm-up tricks to get our bodies limbered up and a couple fun, like, balancing things. Tobin will often balance something pulled straight out of the audience. After that, we go into our fire juggling routine, which is one of the main routines in our show.

TOBIN: But don't watch me. Watch David's face. 

[ Laughter ] 

DAVID: And then we grab a volunteer out of the audience and they help us with the final routine in our show. 

TOBIN: We need a brave kid who is standing up raising their hand. 

TOBIN: My favorite part of the show to do is anything involving the audience and interacting with the people. That's the part that really changes day-to-day because you have a fresh audience every day and having those little moments. 

In our show mainly the main audience volunteer is a kid. 

Run on up here. Give me a high five. 

[ Applause ] 

And they oftentimes become the best part of the show. 

DAVID: Whatever happens, Logan, do not lean forward like this or backwards like this. The funny thing about this trick is we used to do this with the torches on fire. 

[ Laughter ] 

DAVID: There's a bunch of people just showing up out here who have no idea that Logan is about to do something amazing. 

LOGAN: I had a lot of fun up there.

DAVID: Come on, Iowa. Let's make Logan feel good. One, two, three! 

[ Cheers ] 

DAVID: Yeah, using a volunteer has that element of risk, but it also can add such a great reward. It can add so much to the show having that energy coming from the audience. 

All of you holding us up, thank you. 

[ Laughter ] 

And then our most dangerous stunt is our finale where we're doing the human flag handstand 20 feet up in the air on top of our ladder. 

Hold us tight. I'm going to the top. 

LOGAN’S MOM: Which one did you like the best that they did? 

LOGAN:  The handstand on the ladder. 

[ Applause ] 

DAVID: We were just asking ourselves how long we've been coming to the Iowa State Fair, and trying to remember. I believe our first year here was 2012. I can honestly say our experience at the Iowa State Fair out of all the fairs we do, this is right at the top of the list. There aren't any fairs that we've been to that we enjoy performing at more. We have this great area here up on Expo Hill. The format is a little bit out of the way. 

CHASE OSBORN: I loved it so much that I really recommend everyone come out and watch this show. All their act is fantastic. My favorite one has to be the final act where they stand on top of the ladder and do the handstand.

TOBIN: The main thing is we want as many people to come up to Expo Hill and watch the Red Trouser Show. 

DAVID: That’s right. We're here the full run of the fair, 12:00, 3:00, and 6:00 p.m. every day of the fair. So yeah, come have fun with us. 

TOBIN: If you think this was funny, you should have seen us run the Des Moines marathon. 

Hi, Bill Riley at the 2022 Coronation of the State Fair Queen. But I'm honored to be with the reigning queen, McKenna Henrich from Plymouth County. McKenna tell us what your year has been.

McKENNA: It's been a whirlwind to think back on this year. I can sum it up in one word, and that’s grateful. It's been an opportunity of a lifetime and I'm so blessed to be here. One girl out there is going to be feeling it all tonight. 

BILL: We have 98 county queens representing their county fairs. Give us a rough idea of what those young ladies might be experiencing right now. 

McKENNA: When you're going through this process, it's a lot of nerves and anxiety. But guiding them through this process is the fact that they know who they are. They're here representing their county fair because they know they were chosen to be the right queen. They got to remember that's why they're here, they were chosen to be here and walking into this ceremony it's out of control, so sit back and have fun. 

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 

JERRY PARKIN: All right, your 2022 Iowa State Fair Queen is from Mitchell County, Mary Ann Fox. 

[ Cheers and Applause ] 

♪♪ 

BILL: We will talk with a Mary Ann and get to know her in Thursday night's show. Congratulations to Mary Ann Fox, our 2022 Iowa State Fair Queen. 

♪♪

If you can't make it to the fair this year, here's your chance to soak up the atmosphere in a segment we call “As if You Were There at the Fair." 

♪♪ ♪♪ 

Well, we've come to the end of our first hour of fair highlights. But there's so much more to come. We're going to be on the fairgrounds all week gathering up the fair stories that you've come to expect and some new surprises too. Many of you have made our fair highlight program part of your viewing tradition, and we want to make sure you have all of our state fair coverage at your fingertips. So we want you to check out our website as well as the YouTube channel, our Facebook and Instagram pages to get your daily dose of state fair fun. There are so many ways you can engage with us about our beloved state fair. Anytime and anywhere. Now, tomorrow night we'll have the UTV and ATV racing at the Elwell Family Park. A more relaxing time with some wine down in the garden, and the Great Iowan Recipe Contest. Thanks for being here, everyone. I'm absolutely thrilled to be a part of this long-standing tradition. Be sure to join us tomorrow night for even more highlights from the incredible Iowa State Fair. Until then, I'm Bill Riley, and remember have fun at the fair. 

♪♪ ♪♪ 

ANNOUNCER: Funding for Fair 2022 is brought to you by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation, and by 

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