Fair 2022 – Wednesday, August 17

Funding for Fair 2022 is brought to you by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation. And by -- 

For more than 110 years, EMC Insurance Companies has served policy holders, independent agents and local communities. Providing insurance products for business and life. Count on EMC.

[Iowa Pork Producers]

I am Kevin Rasmussen, and I'm a big farmer. We feel a deep responsibility to protect our environment and ensure sustainability. I think it's important to share our story and that others know we are always striving to do better. 

♪♪

Hi. I'm Bill Riley, and welcome back to our third night of Iowa State Fair highlights. One of the things that really impresses me about the Iowa State Fair is how much hard work people are willing to put into something they love, whether it's caring for animals, preserving history, or making art. Fairgoers are always trying to do things better.

Coming up in tonight's show, that spirit of hard work and dedication, it's on display with the FFA Parade of Champions. 

We'll learn more about the antique farm machinery, and we'll see what butter cow sculptor Sarah Pratt has whipped up for 2022. 

First, let's start our coverage tonight with a long-standing tradition at the Iowa State Fair. Let's start with a long standing tradition, it's an exhibit of showmanship, horsemanship and fellowship. It's the Cowgirl Queen Contest. 

LOLA SVEC: There was a lot of nerve leading up to today, and once I got in the arena, I calmed down and thought let's just do this and show everybody how I do it. 

KARYLYN CONNOLLY: Getting ready for this is unlike anything else. You can practice all day at home, then once you're out there with the energy and the crowd and the noise, once you go in and feel very confident in your ability and your preparation, it's so exciting. It's such a fun experience. ♪♪

JERRY NOLTING, ANNOUNCER: We have approximately 120 girls, 60 juniors, 60 seniors. There will be three judges, and tonight we will crown a junior queen and her four attendants, a senior queen and her four attendants.

MEGAN HUMPHREY, JUDGE: I will be judging the Cowgirl Queen Contest tonight, and this contest is special and dear to my heart. I grew up showing in it myself in both the junior and senior division. I'll look for that young lady who has that confidence, she's got that smile, she's got that good riding ability, that rider who can utilize their four natural aids to their seat and legs and hands and voice and communicate in unison with their horse.

LOLA SVEC: Training for the Cowgirl Queen Contest has helped me grow as a rider and helped me learn my horse better so we're able to work as a team more and helped me learn different training styles, mental training and physical training that goes into this. I'm now able to keep learning at everything I love to do. My advice is just make sure you are all ready for it. You are all good to go, you're not going to freak out when you go super fast and have to do a sliding stop. And make sure you're nice and relaxed. If you're super tense, your horse is going to feel that, and that's never good.

ELIVIA PAPCUN: I have been trying to win this competition for almost seven years, ever since I was a little girl and could compete in the competition, so this was definitely a very big achievement for me, especially with this horse. I've had her since I was 8 years old. She's definitely the horse I want to win it with. So June of this year, I had a horse accident and broke my pelvis. As soon as I could ride, I was back on competing, and this is my second show back, and I really just wanted to prove a point that you can overcome anything, and I couldn't be happier.

JERRY: All of these young ladies, by the time they get here, they're very well experienced in the horse industry. They're fine riders in their own right, and they can be very proud of what they do.

SAUNDY ANDERSON: The Cowgirl Queen Contest really affords these kids an opportunity to work toward a goal. The confidence building that this competition provides for these girls is amazing.

MEGAN: Growing up with the Cowgirl Queen Contest, I remember this as a family event. And I remember how nice that was with my family being there and my friends and all the support and just what a great community of horse industry people all coming together for one big event, one big special event we had that one time of the year. And how we always looked forward to it every year, going to the Iowa State Fair and being at the Cowgirl Queen Contest.

KARLYN: My advice for handling the energy and excitement would be to truly trust in your training. There's no need to go in and change anything about how you're riding. How you've practiced is perfect. It will be what it needs to be. It's important to go in with confidence, yet not be cocky. Take it all in. It's not about winning. It's about getting to compete in this competition. 

My best advice for doing the cowgirl queen salute is to make a plan and not a decision on the fly. It's best to have it planned out and know what's best for your horse and what will show off you and the horse's ability best.

TALENA BALASCH: This is my first year ever doing this, and we won it. I can't believe it. I have always dreamed of doing something like this, and it's absolutely a dream come true to be able to make it here and win it. I never thought that this could happen, and it did. Honestly, I'm never not going to not try something. Anything is absolutely possible, and I can't wait to see what the future brings.

BILL RILEY JR: In tonight's fair flash back, we're talking about the butter cow. 

♪♪ 

Norma Lyon, better known as Duffy, was the 4th person and the first woman to sculpt the butter cow at the Iowa State Fair. Starting in 1960s he sculpted the butter cow and a companion sculpture every year until she retired in 2006.

BILL RILEY SR: An unsung artist, the sculptor of the Iowa State Fair's butter cow. Duffy Lyon from Toledo, Iowa.

BILL RILEY JR: It's a lot of fun to look back at some of her creations.

DUFFY LYON: The heads are the hardest for me to do. To get that eye just right is real pain staking, and I have to go outside and see what it looks like because when you're in here and right on top of her, you can't tell exactly how she looks until you go outside and get away from her at a distance.

IOWA PBS HOST: Duffy, I want to ask you about how you got started making butter sculpture.

DUFFY: It wasn't very nice. I saw a picture of the interim guy who did it before the original guy did. Apparently he had passed away. He had done it for two years, maybe three and I happened to see a photograph, and I just said, "I can do better than that." This is probably the most complicated thing I head made. I'm trying to do the best I can. I'll find all kinds of stuff wrong with it when I get away from here and see pictures. I just like doing this. Not for showoff reasons. I just like to do it, and if people enjoy it, that's fun for them.

IOWA PBS HOST: Mrs. Lyon, I think you have a butter hobby than most of us.

DUFFY: Thank you.

♪♪

BILL RILEY JR: This summer, the fair had an opportunity to preserve her legacy by installing some of her work in a way that, well, is a little more permanent than butter.

STEVE MAXON, SCULPTOR: We're a bronze casting art foundry, so we make bronze statues and things like that. This was a fiberglass statue that Norma 'Duffy' Lyon made in clay originally I suppose, and somebody replicated it in fiberglass. And when the derecho went through, it was when parts of the oak tree fell off and smashed the fiber glass badly. So they brought it to us to repair the fiberglass and they wanted something a little more durable that would be derecho proof.

BILL: One casting was made to replace the original in Duffy's hometown of Toledo, Iowa. Another one is on display at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, and before the mold was destroyed, a third was created to reside in front of the Agriculture Building on the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

B.J. BAKER, DONOR: As a young man, a child, you know, we would stand in line for an hour or two to see the butter cow. So it's been a part of my family and our lives before we knew what we were doing at the fair. Besides cotton candy and corn dogs, it was go see the butter cow. It was a beautiful tribute to the history of the butter cow and the dairy industry and their culture in general in Iowa. So it's gorgeous.

♪♪

PAUL YEAGER: 76 trombones may lead the big parade, but can you fit 76 butter creations into the butter cooler? We'll find out. We'll also see what is special about this year's creation and how the theme inside the cooler here has very strong Iowa ties.

SARAH PRATT: This is a really special year because my apprentices, Hannah and Grace, my twins, are going off to college in just a week and a half. It feels like a culmination and a shift into a new time.

PAUL: And you just took the twins and a couple of other folks on an airplane ride, and that's all part of the big sculpture, which we'll get to in a minute. But what was it like to take the butter cow message to New York City?

SARAH: It was amazing. We got to go to Broadway and see the Broadway show. And we saw an Iowan in action and we did take him a plushy butter cow. We're busy sculpting Meredith Willson's The Music Man. It's the 60th anniversary of the movie that I grew up watching. It's been on my list for some time because Meredith Willson, an Iowa legend and the movie and musical, iconic, right? After going to the Broadway show last week, we are jazzed about this new cast. There's 22 Broadway debuts happening, one of them is Drew Minard, the star that we got to meet that's from Iowa. Along with lots of the children in the show. I feel like we're going to maybe lean more on the current cast.

PAUL: You always have things in mind. You always have things written down, but I'm picking up from you that you kind of were sitting there watching the show going, you know, what if ... that happened.

SARAH: Absolutely. We had pretty much the marching band scene laid out and underway, and I wanted to get a dance scene with the two main characters, and yet, the moment that Winthrop gets his coronet from Professor Hill and you see Mary Ann's face. The entire play shifts, the entire -- Mary Ann's feelings, Winthrop just lights up and reanimates at that point in the musical, so it's really the turning point. And it was emotional for me. It's like, okay, scrap the dance scene. This is going to be it.

PAUL: You were a big time Broadway producer at that point. Cut the dance scene. We're bringing in the trumpet. Right? That's how it sounds to me.

SARAH: It was. I mean, there's so many iconic scenes, so it was really hard. It took me a long time to boil down what touched me about the movie and the musical and what hopefully touches other people and what it really was representing, so I hope that shows through for people who come and see it.

PAUL: Behind you is another sculpture, you can't forget the other anniversary that's happening.

SARAH: That's right. It's the 100th anniversary of the Ye Old Mill. Who doesn't go on the Ye Old Mill every year? We have the cow and the mill on this side honoring the fair. And then, of course, The Music Man.

♪♪

BILL RILEY: Okay, everyone, tonight's trivia is another 'where at the fair.' Take a look at this photo and see if you remember where this handsome critter lives. Is it outside the animal learning center? Grandfather's barn? Was it in the fun forest? Or at the mountain man camp? We'll bring you the answer a little later in the show.

But right now, it's time for some air conditioning. We're going to head over to the Cultural Building where the judges had some tough decisions because there was so much awesome art.

KARA BERHOW: The Fine Arts Show is where Iowans get to come together and think about a little more than corn beans and cattle, right? We're here to see the talents of the people who live in this state. Celebrate those and just see something that you might not see every day. There are some things that is are super technical that are done completely perfect and there are things that somebody has looked at a subject such as a barn and taken that and moved it into something that's almost mathematical. There's geometry there, there's color theory there. They're doing things that a normal person looking at a barn wouldn't do. 

TERI CADMAN, JUDGE: I've worked in different art fields throughout my life. I know a lot of local artists. Des Moines has a great art community. This is all of Iowa so it's even better. We started out online judging individually each piece, so this is the first time I've seen them in person. I'm kind of blown away by some of them because they're small on the screen, but some of them are really big here.

DINA BECHMAN, JUDGE: You never get the full experience from a picture. Art is to be experienced and you need to be in front of it. The judges were all just kind of talking through pieces, what draws us in, what we like about something, what's maybe off-putting a little bit. You know, technical talent versus feelings because a lot of art is feeling.

NICK LaPOLE, JUDGE: I'm seeing a bunch of impressive work from Iowans all across the state, which is pretty exciting. From paintings to drawings to fiber works. Essentially, I like to dabble when it comes to my creative practice, and to be able to see the state as diversified in its artistic mediums is really powerful.

DINA: The fair really celebrates everything about Iowa. And Iowa is home to a bevy of super talented, super creative people.

NICK: It's never an easy choice. This is all fun. Like, that's what's really great. It's like this isn't a critique. Ideally, you find stuff that you know you love and you also find things you didn't expect. We're trying to have fun, and this is part of it.

TERI: I found it really important to leave comments for the youth just to encourage them to keep creating and even if they didn't get in, you know, keep going, practice, and there's always, you know, room to learn.

KARA: It's a wonderful place to just take a nice little break. It's a little quieter up in this building. We have three floors of exhibits. It's beautiful. It's a wonderful place to meet people. I'm going to meet you at the top of the hill at the Cultural Building, and we'll go down through the fair from there. It's a great way to view the fair.

♪♪

BROOKE KOHLSDORF: We are here for the FFA Parade of Champions inside the Livestock Pavilion. This is a moment where these students and their hard work get to shine. There were a lot of entries this year, about 2,000 participants entering 8,000 projects. 

Winners in the mechanics and technology division are leading off the parade. This year there were 86 exhibits shown by 70 members from 35 chapters. 

Champion 1959 or Later

• Lane Orr, Central Community at Elkader

Champion Computer Design

• Tyler Zuercher, Mel-Mar-Mac

Innovation in Ag Award

• Davis McGrew and Ryan Stortenbecker, East Mills

Champion Outdoor Woodworking

• Kyra Wolterman, Carroll Area

Champion Restored Farm Equipment

• Max Bedwell, Interstate 35

Champion 1st Year Tractor Exhibitor

• Spencer Paysen, DeWitt

Champion Tractor Restored by a Group

• Nathan Groendyk, Andrew Veenstra and Holden DeVries, Pella Christian

Judges looked at 794 photos brought to the fair by 285 photographers from 67 chapters. 

Grand Champion Photo Overall

• Jaylin Vanderwiel, North Mahaska at New Sharon

Reserve Best of Show

• Abigail Martin, Davis-Rodgers at Shenandoah

Champion Contemporary Photo

• Nora Martin, Davis-Rodgers at Shenandoah

In the farm crops division, 62 students from 19 chapters brought 332 exhibits to the fair for judging. 

Farm Crop Premier Exhibtor

• Dakota Rohwedder, Calamus-Wheatland

Reserve Champion Ornamental Corn

• Calli Stocker, Albia

Champion Forage, Grass and Legumes

• Hannah Rohwedder, Calamus-Wheatland

Champion Small Grains, Legumes and Specialty Crops

• Lucas Hledik (Held by Samantha Hledik), DeWitt Central

Champion Sheaf Grains

• Olivia McDermott, Maquoketa

Sweepstakes Trophy

• Ephraim Van Zante, Agri-Power at Eddyville

Crop Display Champion

• Eliza Van Zante, Agri-Power at Eddyville

Champion One Gallon Early Beans

• Tanya Olsen, Forest City

Reserve Champion Farm Crops Display

• Trell Amoss, Albia

Champion School Grown Vegetables

• Cale Claussen, North Scott at Eldridge

In the horticulture show, there were 710 exhibits shown by 80 members from 26 chapters. 

Champion Horticulture Premier Exhibitor

• Keegan Jones, Nevada

Reserve Champion Premier Horticulture Exhibitor

• Skylar Hanford, West Marshall at State Center

In the floral culture division, 46 exhibiters from 15 FFA chapters brought 623 flower displays to the Iowa State Fair. 

Award of Excellence

• Quinn Schmidt, Mid-Prairie at Wellman

Grand Champion Dahlia

• Chloe Zittergrün, Tri-County at Thornburg

Champion Rose

• Sidney Davis, Mid-Prairie at Wellman

Grand Champion Gladiola

• Grayce Williams, Tri-County at Thornburg

Reserve Champion Dahlia and Reserve Champion Zinnia

• Madalyn Hartz, West Branch

Champion Petunia and Champion All Other Flowers

• Janelle Clark, Albia

Across the state, there are more than 18,600 Iowa FFA members. 

45 students from 31 chapters brought 250 exhibits to the rabbit show, and here are some of the winners. 

In the poultry division, 37 FFA members from 20 chapters brought 305 exhibits for judging. 

Champion and Reserve Champion Havana

• John Garden, Boyer Valley at Dunlap

Champion Brittania Petite

• Zayden Reffitt, Boyer Valley at Dunlap

Champion Four Class Breed

• Alexis Brinkman, North Butler at Greene

Champion Market Broiler

• Emma Wedeking, North Butler at Greene

Reserve Champion Market Broiler

• Samantha Horman, Tipton

Champion Egg Layer

• Wyatt Christiansen, Midland at Wyoming

Reserve Champion Egg Layer

• Carley Sheil, Creston

Reserve Grand Champion Commercial Pen of Two Meat Turkeys

• Zoe Fisher, Mid-Prairie at Wellman

Champion Breeding Bird

• Rosemarie Long, Waverly-Shell Rock

Reserve Champion Breeding Bird

• Alina Goldie, West Marshall at State Center

This is the 44th year for the Avenue of Breeds. Students from the North Polk FFA chapter at Alleman take care of the more than 65 animals during the run of the fair. There were 968 head of hogs judged in the swine division. In just the market swine division alone, 287 students brought 568 animals for judging. 

Palamino - Karen and Alecia Havens from Greenfield (Owner)

• Anna Harris, North Polk at Alleman

Netherland Dwarf - Mia Mae Perry from Des Moines (Owner)

• Haley Volz, North Polk at Alleman

Supreme Champion Breeding Gilt

• Leah Marek, Washington

Champion Purebred Gilt

• Harper Whittington, Mount Ayr

Reserve Champion Purebred Gilt

• Tate Lettow, Woodward-Granger

Grand Champion Market Swine

• Jillian Woodruff, Central Plains at Gowrie

Reserve Champion Market Swine

• Shae Becker, Mid-Prairie at Wellman

Champion Swine Carcass Scan

• Blake Frascht, Charles City

Grand Champion FFA Carcass Pig

• Drew Hinners, Alta-Aurelia

Grand Champion Market Lamb

• Cade Moon, Indianola

Reserve Champion Market Lamb

• Phoebe Sanders, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows

Champion Window A Performance Beef

• J.K. Prentice, North Fayette Valley at West Union

Reserve Champion Window A Performance Beef

• Clayton Grantz, Northeast at Goose Lake

Reserve Champion Window B Performance Beef

• Mayleigh Medberry, Central Community at Elkader

Champion Window C Performance Beef

• Carson Bauer, Audubon

Reserve Champion Window C Performance Beef

• Nathan Kucera, North Tama at Traer

Reserve Champion Supreme Bull

• Cale Jensen, Nashua-Plainfield

Overall Grand Champion Bull

• Tyler Murray, Bison at Buffalo Center

Grand Champion All Other Breeds Bull

• Tyler Loudon, Creston

Champion Aberdeen Bull

• Olivia Orchard, Clear Lake

Champion Commercial Cow/Calf Pair

• Rylie Timm, HLV at Victor

Supreme Champion Breeding Heifer

• Riley Jansen, Sioux Center

Champion Foundation Simmental

• John Vander Veen, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn

Reserve Champion Breeding Beef - All Other Breeds

• Iris Peterson, Washington

Grand Champion American Aberdeen Angus Heifer

• Anna Holthaus, South Winneshiek at Calmar

Reserve Champion Aberdeen Bull

• Kiersten Ouverson, Clear Lake

Reserve Champion Simmental Heifer

• Ryder Thill, Pleasantville

Champion Simmental Heifer

• Riley Thill, Pleasantville

Reserve Champion Shorthorn Plus Heifer

• Abigail Green, West Marshall at State Center

Champion Maine-Angus Breeding Beef

• Landon Rozenboom, Albia

Third Overall Champion Breeding Beef

• Chase Rozenboom, Twin Cedars at Bussey

Reserve Champion Maintainer

• Andrew Crawford, Belmond-Klemme

Champion All Other Breeds Heifer

• Olivia Prunty, Southeast Polk

Reserve Champion Black Angus Heifer

• Lauren Phillips, Centerville

Reserve Champion All Other Breeds Bull

• Renee Grimm, IKM-Manning

Junior Champion Jersey

• Carter Kruse, Maquoketa Valley at Delhi

Reserve Senior Champion Ayrshire

• Mary Holtz, Maquoketa

Grand Champion Brown Swiss

• Mary Holtz, Maquoketa

Reserve Junior Champion Holstein

• Garrett Lovstuen, Decorah

Grand Champion Horse

• Sarah Tapken, ADM at Adel

Reserve Champion High Point Horse Exhibitor

• Morgan Hanson, IKM-Manning

In the sheep show, there were 593 head competing in four divisions. There were 271 head of cattle shown at the 2022 Iowa State Fair. In the breeding beef show for this division, 188 animals were exhibited by 139 members from 89 chapters. 

We caught up with this year's Iowa FFA President Sam Martin.

SAM MARTIN: A lot of people see here at the fair, if you're not involved with agriculture as much, you see the end product, but sometimes you don't see the early mornings or late nights at the barn or out in the field that get these projects to this point. Tonight's event is showcasing all the hard work happening this week and in the previous months to this, and now all the students get to show off their projects, and it's a neat experience for them. It's neat for me as a state officer to see all the work that's been put into these projects by the students and now they can display to the general public. 

Judges for the dairy cattle division looked over 59 animals shown by 16 exhibitors from 14 chapters. 

And the final unit in the parade has just a few of the students who received top honors in the horse division. This year, 84 members brought 122 horses from 55 chapters to the 2022 Iowa State Fair.

BILL RILEY: I got to tell you. I'm in heaven. I'm up by Pioneer Hall. It's a beautiful morning here at the Iowa state Fair, and I wanted to come see the antique farm machinery display, and I'm thrilled to be standing here with the man himself, Jack Smith. You're going to give us a guided tour of these magnificent pieces of history.

JACK SMITH: We've been up here in the hill for 25 years plus. Most of the machinery you're going to see is 100 years old. We're really preservationists. We try to find machinery in workloads. People are amazed that it runs at all. Try to explain to them what it did. It pumped the water, it carried the ground feed, it had to do that in my hand before that.

BILL: One thing that I know you try to continue is getting the young minds engaged in the technology that they're observing here, and you've got a section down here that is pretty much dedicated to the young folks, and it's almost a hands-on area.

JACK: That is correct. The little guys can go down there and run a hand corn grinder and see what it does. There's corn shellers. You used to have to do that by hand. The corn shellers were a miracle of their time. You can do it with a crank or the engine. The little guys get real into that. We always try to give them a corn cob or two to take home.

BILL: So now we come to this beauty.

JACK: Now we come to this.

BILL: More technology.

JACK: A miracle for those processing corn. These guys here, you had a handle on the outside, and you've got a pulley on the inside. Now, if you were lucky, you had a little brother, and you would get him to turn that crank just as fast as he possibly could.

BILL: Oh, my goodness.

JACK: Get the inertia on that fly wheel, and you throw the corn in there, and it would grind it just that fast.

BILL: You are continuing our tour through history, and we're standing here watching a water pump. If you didn't have a machine back in the day, you were doing this by hand. Is that correct?

JACK: That is correct. If you had 10 or 30 head of cattle and some chickens, you were going to use that well pump lever that isn't there right now, and you were going to fill that bucket 30 or 40 times or more and carry it to where the livestock were or you get one of these guys, you can pump all the water you want in just a few minutes.

BILL: Well, Jack, I want to get over here and look at these beauties and listen to them run. You got to fire up the smallest Harley Davidson I've ever seen. Now, if that were on a bike, that probably would fit me. Be about my size. 

Jack, thank you so much for this beautiful run through agricultural history. I'm Bill Riley, and I am having fun at the Iowa State Fair. 

♪♪ 

BILL RILEY: It takes a little courage to put yourself out there and enter a contest at the Iowa State Fair. Here are some fairgoers who went for it and won. 

Our Iowa Church Cookbook Favorites

• 1st Place: Linda Torgerson, Radcliffe
• 2nd Place: Louise Piper, Garner
• 3rd Place: Michelle Henderson, Ankeny

Fine Art - Adult Drawing

• 1st Place: Mary Ann Marreel, Osage
• 2nd Place: Robin Fisher, New London
• 3rd Place: Victoria Ulrich, Cedar Falls
• Honorable Mention: Swati Lodha, Ames

Fine Art - Oil Paining

• 1st Place: Susan Reinier, Cedar Rapids
• 2nd Place: Amy Hedberg, Des Moines
• 3rd Place: Dianne Liepa, West Des Moines
• Honorable Mention: Lori Ristau, Johnston

Fine Art - Adult Pastels

• 1st Place: Stewart Buck, Ankeny
• 2nd Place: Amy Hedberg, Des Moines
• 3rd Place: Stewart Buck, Ankeny
• Honorable Mention: Rhonda Ward, Clive

Fine Art - Adult Pottery

• 1st Place: Caroline Freese, Indianola
• 2nd Place: Jennifer Joanning, Des Moines
• 3rd Place: Victoria Mock Pollock, Des Moines
• Honorable Mention: Victoria Mock Pollock, Des Moines

Auctioneers Bid Calling Finals

• 1st Place: Austin Creamer, Hartington, NE
• 2nd Place: David Whitaker, Ames
• 3rd Place: Paul McCartan, Stewartville, MN
• 4th Place: Jim Huff, Mount Pleasant
• 5th Place: Adam Marshall, Kearney, NE

Backgammon - More Experienced Division

• 1st Place: Bill Young, Ankeny
• 2nd Place: Tim Wieland, Des Moines
• 3rd Place: Scott Menderson, Winterset

Backgammon - Less Experienced Division

• 1st Place: Emily Merfeld, Des Moines
• 2nd Place: Ralene Watkins, Ames
• 3rd Place: Kris Merfeld, Des Moines

♪♪

We're going to take a quick break, but when we come back, we'll have a feast for the senses in store for you. We'll see how sheeps' wool becomes yarn. We'll hear some fantastic fiddling. And Travis Graven, he's going to taste some of this year's new fair foods. It's going to be a real treat, so come right back for more Iowa State Fair fun on Iowa PBS.

♪♪

Here's a look at the acts advancing from today's talent competition at the Riley Stage.

Sprouts Semifinalists

• Lyrical Dance: Kinsey Townley, 11, Sioux City
• Tap Solo: Reese Freml, 8, Johnston
• Musical Theater Vocal Solo: Ireland Klein, 11, Cedar Rapids
• Lyrical Dance: Kenna Whitacre, 12, Davenport
• Acro Dance: Brystol Wiley, 11, Douds

Senior Semifinalists

• Acro Dance Solo: Brooklyn Miller, 14, Gowrie
• Tap Solo: Emma Reisz, 18, Denison
• Musical Theater: Sage Minnihan, 16, Onawa
• Vocal Solo: Kyrah Strickler, 16, Des Moines
• Hip Hop Duet: Laura Steinkamp, 15, Wall Lake and Callie Ferneding, 16, Carroll

Be sure to tune in for the talent championships here on Iowa PBS. Sunday, August 21 at 8 p.m.

Welcome back everyone. I'm Bill Riley. Showing livestock is one of the great traditions here at the Iowa state fair. And the young people who participate, they really devote themselves to these projects. Let's head over to the sheep barns to see the results of their hard work. 

PAUL YEAGER: Housed in the Sheep Barn on the Iowa State Fairgrounds, the 4H Market Lamb Show was in full swing this year. 4H kids from all across Iowa entered their sheep for consideration, each hoping to come away with the title of grand champion. 

Jordan Amburgey from Mount Sterling, Kentucky was this year's sheep judge.

JORDAN AMBURGEY: So I have been around sheep all my life. It's my career. It's my passion. I work with small remnants daily, got sheep at home. It's just something that at this point in my life, it's what it's all about. 

You know, I think sheep are unique because sheep and goats, I should say because we actually get to put our hands on them and evaluate their muscle and carcus traits whereas pigs, it's all on emotion, and cattle, we really don't emphasize that up to a high degree. So I think sheep, if your hands meet your eyes, you can judge a lot in terms of what you actually feel with your hands. 

I like the elite ones. I like the ones that internally make me smile. I guess what those look like are the ones that just have that presence that look like a champion. They come out and they know they're good, but still they're basic in terms of having some muscle, having something about them, but still most importantly, they're sound and athletic. We got to take a picture at the end of the day, so they got to look like a champion. Once I establish if they have enough muscle or they don't, then we can start basing things on the quality, aesthetics, the build, and combine that with the proper muscle organization and find the elite ones that are your blue ribbon winners. 

Everyone's different. I like them built as flawless as possible. I like to watch their feet and legs motor in the right way. I like them tall shouldered, shallow chested and neat shoulder. Once we put all those little unique things in one package, at the end of the day, that's what my champion is going to look like.

PAUL: The competition was stiff as the show saw 492 entries across 22 classes. The top two selections from each class advanced to the finals.

JORDAN: What I love most about judging is working with the kids is awesome. And I hope it's a good experience for them because what I've seen when I was showing many moons ago is the numbers of kids are dwindling it seems like, so I just try to make it a positive experience for all these kids to bring them back next year and increase our numbers and increase agricultural awareness. 

The most difficult part about judging is there can only be one winner, and when you get these challenging and competitive state and national shows like the Iowa State Fair, there's going to be 15 that deserve to be at the backdrop later today, but ultimately, I can only slap one my champion. That's the difficult part is just people understanding that, hey, I might like 15 or 20 of these things, but landing on one is a challenge.

PAUL: The Grand Champion Market Lamb Award for 2022 went to Sam Schmillen from Marcus. Congrats to Sam and all the runner ups.

4-H Market Lamb Show

• Grand Champion: Sam Schmillen
• Reserve Grand Champion: Colby Williams
• 3rd Place: Paitlyn Petersen

TRAVIS GRAVEN: There's always a lot of anticipation for a great number of things leading up to the Iowa State Fair. 4H shows, vegetable contest, the photography exhibit. But in mid July, the excitement is almost palpable for the official reveal of the top ten foods for 2022, and somehow my producers gave me, Travis Graven, the honor of sampling, tasting, and judging this year's entrants. I don't think I can wait any longer. 

Welcome to the Iowa State Fair New Foods Competition for 2022. Our surveys tell us that more people come for the food at the Iowa State Fair than any other one reason.

TRAVIS: It's kind of hard to come up with something that's new and different that hasn't already been done.

SCOTT SIEPKER: It definitely is the case, and you can only put so many things on a stick. There's dozens of new food every year, and this year is no different. So you might as well come out to the Iowa State Fair. They don't even pay me to say this. Come out to the Iowa State Fair. It's a fun time.

What's going to happen here is these fine people are going to send one person from their team up to one of these nice round tables, and they're going to taste one of the ten new foods on display for today. The top three scoring foods are going to then be up to your vote when you come to the fair to win the People's Choice Award. You know what we're going to do now? We're going to eat. 

SCOTT: You're going right for that marshmallow, I see.

JUDGE: I'm lactose intolerant, and I would still buy this.

TRAVIS: This is a good bite of food. It's got some kick to it, but it takes a moment to kick in. But that's good. If you look a little spice, between the chorizo, pepper jack cheese, thumbs up.

This has really good presentation.

That's elevated state fair food. 

I have no idea what number we're on right now. But I'm starting to feel a little bit full. That's not going to stop me, though. And this is Pork Picnic in a Cup, which is a little bit of everything. I'm a sucker for pulled pork. 

All right. Item number nine of ten. 

SCOTT: And we have a giant piece of food coming -- come on over here.

TRAVIS: It's hard to know how to pace yourself on those first couple of items because you know you have to eat ten different things, and then number ten is this. This is not your grandma's state fair food here. Thankfully, a few weeks to go to the state fair, I can do this all over again.

♪♪

DANA LAIN: Hi. I'm Dana Lain. Sheep sharing takes mere minutes, but what comes after takes time. Let talk to folks while they spin and knit here in the sheep barn. 

CINDY GRIESE: We start out by spinning wool on the spinning wheel. Then that turns it into yarn. Two-ply yarn, and then next year, that yarn will go to the knitters, and they will knit hats with it.

How did you get into spinning?

CHRISTIE POINDEXTER: I have just always been curious about it, and I was at Fiber Palooza, and it's hosted by the yarn store down in Winterset, and there were people there spinning and weaving, so I just asked them about it and started going to the guild meetings.

ELAINE WEDEKING: I just love it. I learned to knit from an aunt when I was a teenager, and I have been doing it ever since. I do love making mittens, and that's what I choose, and I love the idea of keeping a little one's hands warm during the winter. 

CHRISTIE: It is meditative when you get the feel of it and you just know when to let it go and kind of concentrate on the different colors going through.

EMILY BOLLHOEFER: It's actually 50th anniversary of the soft cherry lady bug, but just like model cars, there's different models of spinning wheels.

DANA: I did not know that. Did you get it as a present?

EMILY: Yes, I got it from my mother when I graduated from Iowa State last year.

EMILY BAKER: Every year we come out to the spinner and weavers, they spin up the yarn, and we use last year's yarn to knit hats for charity. It catches people's eye and they get interested and maybe some of them might learn. 

ELAINE: I just love being here. Today it's nice and cool. It gets noisy at times because the sheep are over there in the ring eventually, and we'll hear a lot from them, but it's just a great day here at the fair for me personally.

BILL RILEY: Tonight's trivia question asked where at the fair would you find in statue? 

Is it outside the Animal Learning Center, at Grandfather's Barn, was it up in the Fun Forest or at the Mountain Man Camp? 

It's actually in the Fun Forest. The Fun Forest was completed in 1999. It's dedicated to exploration and play and entertainment for our youngest fairgoers. If you haven't been there, it's a great place to take a break with the young ones. 

Our next segment takes us to Pioneer Hall and introduces us to some very talented musicians. It's the Fiddling Contest.

DAVID BELLEGANTE: This song has to do with a steam engine, steam whistles, nice pretty sound. But now we got these diesels, makes it hard for a fiddler player to imitate a diesel. Something like that anyway. But that's about as close as we can get.

My grandfather kind of got me started when I was 12 years old. I started coming to the contest to compete in 1976. I have been involved one way or another all those years. 

BEN MCCLURE: My family has always had a history of playing fiddle. My great great grandfather, which I carry his fiddle now, used to play. My cousin played up until he passed when he turned 100. Ever since then, I have probably learned everything I could from everybody around here. 

I have been playing for 15 years. And I'm 27 now, so it's been a while. 

That's one of the things that I really like about plague fiddle is you can sit there and take this tune that you have learned from somebody else and take bits and pieces from everybody else and make it your own. That is one of the biggest things about fiddle playing. 

BRENTON BROWN, JUDGE: We love to listen to the variety of music they play. They are required to do a waltz and some kind of hoedown, then a song of their choice. We're also listening for technique. We also look at how well they play and get the audience engaged. How fiddle music originated, it was folk dance and get people involved and you goal was to get people on the dance floor and keep them there. So you want to have people tapping their toes and clapping along, so if you get them to do that while you're performing then you know you got a winner. 

[ Applause ]

And the 2022 Grand Champion Fiddler from Des Moines, Iowa, David Bellegante.

DAVID: I'm going to officially retire from competition, so thank you very much. 

[ Applause ] 

BEN: Everybody really respects everybody around here. We love each other. We all try to do our best and raise each other up to be better fiddle players. 

DAVID: Whether it's a diesel or a steam engine, they both have to put on the brakes. 

♪♪

BLAIR RYAN: Tell us the primary purpose of what's going on here today.

DR. TRISHA WEBB: So the whole purpose of the Animal Learning Center is to expose the general public to animal agriculture, and a lot of people don't get to experience life on a farm today. 

From chicks hatching to a cow calving, they really can see all depths of animals giving birth, and it's really fun because you not only get the educational aspect, but you get these cute little guys for the public to see.

CHILD: Yeah. I really liked holding the chicks because I get to show my brothers, and this is their first state fair, so I think it's kind of cool that they can see all the animals and people and stuff.

BLAIR: What is the most exciting thing that's happened this year so far in the Animal Learning Center?

DR. TRISHA: I would say just in general, the birth. We've had a lot of lambs going, so we've had a lot of lambs born. We've had two sows, so you're looking at 15-17 piglets coming out too, so it's a lot going on.

BLAIR: Can you tell me what you thought of that little baby pig?

CHILD'S DAD: What did you think?

[Child shies away from the camera, hiding her face.]

BLAIR: Okay. I have one other question. I just want to know, was the baby piggy soft?

DAD: Yeah?

BLAIR: Have you done any chores yet? Did you get to milk a cow?

YOUNG GIRL: We moved some chicks into the incubator over there, and we collected eggs.

DR. TRISHA: The core producers do a great job of showing what a gestation crate versus a fairing stall is. You get people that get to see cows calving and how natural of a process that is. It's really, really cool, and I'm excited to show the public this every day of the fair.

BILL RILEY: If you can't make it to the fair this year, or if you just need another taste of that Iowa State Fair magic, here's a chance to feel as if you were there at the fair. 

[Camera pans through Fine Art Show gallery showing drawings, paintings and photography.]

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 

Well, my friends, we've come to the end of another hour of fair highlights, but there's so much more. We have three more nights of coverage coming your way. But if you can't wait until tomorrow night, make sure you check out our website as well as our YouTube channel, our Facebook and Instagram pages. They're loaded with state fair fun. There are so many ways that you can engage with us and our beloved Iowa State Fair anytime and anywhere. 

Here's what to look forward to tomorrow night. Charity Nebbe breaking it down at Pioneer Hall, and the men who are passionate in their pursuit of fine facial hair. And that symbol of love and comfort, that ultimate Iowa dessert, yep, I'm talking about a big piece of pie. 

Hey, everybody, thank you so much for sharing our journey across the great Iowa State Fair. It's an honor to be here with you. Until tomorrow night, I'm Bill Riley, and remember, have fun at the fair. 

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 

Funding for Fair 2022 is brought to you by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation. And by

For more than 110 years, EMC Insurance Company has served policy holders, independent agents and local communities, providing insurance products for both business and life. Count on EMC. 

[Iowa Pork Producers]

Caring for pigs is not just an individual job, it truly does take a village to put safe, healthy food on your table and keep farming sustainable.