Fair 2025 – Wednesday, August 13

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♪ ♪

Hello and welcome back to our third night of Iowa State Fair Highlights. I’m Bill Riley.
From the very beginning, the Iowa State Fair has been rooted in agriculture. What started in 1854 as a way to showcase Iowa’s best crops and livestock has grown into a celebration of hard work, creativity, and competition—values that still shine through today.

On tonight’s show, we’ll see how that tradition continues in the dedication of FFA kids working hard in the Sheep Barn. It’s in the Fiddle Contest—celebrating 100 years of toe-tapping history. And it’s reflected in the Butter Cow, where Sarah Pratt crafts a fair icon loved by generations.

It’s going to be a great show—and we’ll kick it off with something sweet—the Scotcheroo Smackdown inside the Elwell Family Food Center.

♪ ♪

[Dana Lain] So, Celine, tell us about the Scotcharoo Contest. We're really excited. This is a first time contest. Tell us a little bit about it.

[Celine Hartwig, Scotcharoo Snackdown Judge]  So this is the first time that we've hosted this. My brother is actually a sponsor this year. We're just looking for good, you know, a nice, good taste, good texture. And then how does it look?

[Erin Moore, Judge] Okay, well, I definitely think this is a 10 for appearance. I love the dominoes, that is so adorable. Oh, my gosh. And they have the rules for dominoes on here. That is such a nice touch.

[Darvin Graham, Contestant] Scotcheroos are the most decadent, but the most simple dessert. I have so much nostalgia about them, growing up with them and when somebody shows up with a plate of scotcheroos to a function, that person understood the assignment. Like, they're so. They're just so good. The butterscotch is such a unique flavor, and it just really feels Iowan and it feels just perfect.

[Bill Moore, Sponsor] You know, it's kind of an Iowa thing. We were out on the east coast at a football game and Iowa football game in D.C. in Maryland, and some guy comes up and goes, I heard about these Scotcharoos from Iowa. I gotta have one. So we gave him one, you know, and so that's kind of what triggered this. I think this would be a good idea. Erin thought it'd be a good idea.

Hi, I'm Erin Moore. That was my dad talking earlier. It was a gift to him to sponsor this this year. It was my Christmas gift. So I was saying now I know what to get him every year for Christmas.

♪ ♪

[Dana] What started out as a unique Christmas present has turned into a really cool contest here at the Iowa State Fair.

48 people entered their Scotcheroos into this contest.

[Carrie Mueller, Contestant I actually never entered a food contest before. And so when I saw it was a new category this year, I was like, well, first time entering, first time category. So it just kind of made sense to try.

[Tony Dahlman, Contestant] This is a recipe I got from my mom. My mom taught me everything I know about baking.

[Judge] And first place goes to Darvin Graham. Please be here. Yay. Come on up. Come on up.

[Darvin] This is my first ever food contest ever. I've been thinking about entering a scotcharoo the last couple of years in, like, a no bake category. And I saw this one come up as a scotcharoo contest. I'm like, I gotta do it.

[Judge] Well, the presentation is beautiful, but that isn't the only reason why you won. The taste is spectacular.

I've been working on a recipe over the last year or so. I've made so many batches of scotcheroos, but it's fantastic.

[Judge] Do you have a scotcheroo tattoo? That's what I thought. Okay.

[Darvin] Just a couple days ago, I got a scotcheroo tattoo on my arm. It's still kind of healing. So scotcheroos have become kind of my thing over the last year.

[Judge] He was committed, so he deserves to win.

♪ ♪

[Sarah Pratt, Sculptor] This year we're celebrating the 30th anniversary of the movie Toy Story. And it's a little bit of our own version of Toy Story, so we're incorporating a lot of the different storylines. Our storyline is the Toy Story toys coming to the Iowa State Fair.

One of the challenges this year has been what scale to do the toys in, because in the movie they can create a zoom in and zoom out. And so we've tried to do that for the viewers because the toys are small, right? But we want them to be able to see them in lots of detail. So we've done a little bit of playing with that storyboard idea and like having the toys in different scales in each window. So you have Toy Story starting in the 1990s all the way through. And we're trying to touch on all those different iterations and different aspects that come into the Toy Story storyline.

It's been really fun to work with my daughters who were kind of more in the Toy Story 2 era and kind of work through what are the highlights for each of the different movies.

♪ ♪

We have four windows this year filled with butter. In the first window you come to, it's Andy's room. We borrowed ideas from Toy Story 2, where in Toy Story 2, Rex is playing a video game and he clicks onto a TV station and catches Al's Toy Barn. And instead he's clicked on footage from Iowa Public Television's, over the years, Fiddle Contest. So it's a rerun, right? And so it's the idea that, oh my goodness, the Fiddle Contest.

And Jessie is inspired and she conspires with some of her friends to sneak out of Andy's room. And so in the next window you see Jessie on Bullseye riding on the turntable as she's like galloping to the Iowa State Fair to catch the Fiddle Contest, which is celebrating its 100 year anniversary.

And of course, Woody and Buzz are in tow and they're getting to the Iowa State Fair. And of course they have to stop by the butter cow. And then in the last window you see a fiddle player.

♪ ♪

So two years ago at the Iowa State Fair, we met Mary Savik. She's the head curator at the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. We were thinking that she just wanted some advice on what kind of displays to put in, not knowing that it was going to be a life size butter sculpture that they had in mind.

We have just returned from Washington D.C. and have completed our very sweet butter cow that will be on display at the Renwick Gallery as part of the State Fair's Growing American Craft exhibit that opens Aug. 22 and will be on display there along with items from state fairs across the nation for about a year.

They were able to work with AMPI, that provides our butter here and with Midwest Dairy to get butter delivered directly there. So we didn't have to bring butter all the way from Iowa, but we did bring a customer armature that we built. Every cow I do year to year is different, and so we didn't want it to be an exact replica and it couldn't be anyway because each cow has its own personality.

But we did visit a local dairy farm and got to take pictures of some dairy cows to like, pick out a Jersey cow that we wanted to emulate. It feels so surreal to be part of a Smithsonian Museum exhibit.

When I first started helping Norma sculpt, I didn't think that I would amount to more than her assistant. I thought I will soften butter for her and clean buckets and whatever I can be helpful. So it has just been a journey of one step after the next and an unfolding that I just couldn't have imagined.

It feels like it's such a gift to be able to go, and with my family, to be able to have an exhibit in the Smithsonian. Like, it's just. I can't hardly believe it.

♪ ♪

Next up we meet Eli Johnson of Bedford—a student-athlete, 4-H and FFA member who splits his time between the court, the track, and the barn. His goal: bring the same grit he shows in sports to the show ring as he prepares to exhibit his pigs and lambs at the Iowa State Fair.

♪ ♪

[Coach] On your mark. Get Set, go.

[Narrator] Some might say track and field draws parallels with life. Demanding your all at a moment's notice, testing endurance and overcoming hurdles.

[Eli Johnson] I just try to practice hard every day.

[Narrator] Eli Johnson has crushed expectations, showing relentless spirit as a wheelchair athlete and more. The Bedford senior takes on various disciplines year round and has earned the right to compete in the state track meet every year as a high schooler.

[Eli] I get up at like 7:00 and then go to school. I'll have cross country, track practice or basketball after school and then I'll be on the farm till like 9:00 or later.

[Narrator] In addition to track, shot put, cross country and participation in a Kansas City based wheelchair basketball league, Eli raises animals. He shows on the county level and at the Iowa State Fair.

[Clint Powell, Head Track Coach at Bedford Community High School] He pushes himself harder than we ever do. He is very active. He's always doing something. It wears me out just thinking about it sometimes.

[Eli] My older brothers were involved in the farm and sports and I just wanted to be like them and just do stuff that they did.

[Narrator] One of five boys, Eli's family backs all of his extracurricular endeavors. His parents, Kathy and Roger, are both educators and have imparted solid values, including faith, will and drive.

[Kathy Johnson] Eli was born with spina bifida. So the physical therapist had told us that, "those kids just don't do anything. They just sit around." And we said, "no." So we really advocated for him, that we really wanted him to be able to try to do something, to try to walk and do different things.

And she was pretty persistent that, no, he wasn't going to be able to. But Eli did. Which kind of led to the cross country that he does now.

[Narrator] From a young age, Eli learned to use his stomach muscles to walk with special braces that were ultimately no match for his determination. He broke several pairs made from progressively durable materials and eventually adopted the wheelchair due to unforeseen circumstances.

[Kathy] During COVID he kind of quit using him just because we knew everybody was busy at school. Plus his knees got a lot tighter, so that made it more difficult.

[Narrator] But Eli continued to push the envelope.

[Roger Johnson] We have some hills to go from the house to the barns and down the road we have hills. And so when he walks sheep, he's actually training for cross country. There's a monster hill up there. It makes his arms stronger, it helps his endurance and definitely gets a lot of road work that maybe kids don't get in other areas.

[Kathy] Sometimes he'll have one sheep in one hand and have one tied to the back of his wheelchair and so he'll have two sheep he's taking up the hill at the same time.

[Narrator] Eli has connected with different breeders at the Iowa State Fair who have helped him locate different animals to showcase.

[Eli] I like showing at state fair every year. It's really fun just meeting people and seeing everybody.

[Narrator] Whether it's in the show ring, on the court, or in the field. Eli hopes his accomplishments will help provide inspiration for others to overcome challenges in life.

[Eli] It just shows that people in wheelchairs and disabilities can do anything that they want.

♪ ♪

[Narrator] Next we go to Pioneer hall for everyone's favorite, the fiddlers contest. Now though it is a competition, everyone has a great time, even the losers. So get ready to snap your fingers, tap your toes, or maybe even cut a step or two with some rip roaring fiddle music.

[David Bellegante, Fiddle Contest Emcee] This is our 100th year of the fiddle contest. We're the longest running contest at the state fair and we're really proud of that. And we hope this tradition keeps going year after year after year.

♪ ♪

In the early years you had to be 50 to even be in the contest. I believe one year they had to play just one song, the same song. So imagine 100 fiddlers playing the same song over two days or three days, however long the contest was.

[Reporter] Tell us briefly about the fiddlers contest.

[Judge] We have three judges and there are cards fixed up like report cards and each judge has a card for each contestant and they're graded just like a school child.

[David] Hopefully they're kind of looking for… Is it in tune? Is the timing good? Is it pleasant to hear? You have a waltz, hoedown, tune of choice? You can play them in any order.

♪ ♪

[Angela Bellegante, Fiddle Contest Superintendent] The tradition is so embedded in this contest with the multi-generational, the people that hand down their love of their fiddle music to their children and grandchildren. And that is what is so pure and deep rooted in this contest is the generational families.

♪ ♪

Back in the day, the people had the barn dances and they enjoyed getting together, the get togethers, just the music and just wholesome dancing.

And that's how they let loose when they worked all day. And I think they really enjoyed that camaraderie. And then this takes them back because it's the old time music that is timeless and it takes them back to that moment.

[Contestant] I think whether I win or whether I come in on the finals or not, it don't make no difference to me because I go for the fun of it, I'm told stand up.

[Angela] It's so traditional and timeless. It brings a lot of love and happiness.

[David] It's toe tapping, it's rebel violin. How's that?

It is three o' clock time for our finals.

[David] It's like a little family reunion because there's people out in the audience that come year after year after year. Sometimes the fiddlers that come in, this is the only time we see each other.

[Judge] By one point difference.

[Judge] This year's runner up grand champion from Keokuk is Kirk Brandenburger. That makes your 2025 Iowa State Fair grand Japan fiddler from Des Moines, Kat Schmidt.

[Kat] I grew up playing in this contest and with these people. So it's really awesome to come back every year. It is like a family reunion every year. I mean, about half the competitors every year. Learn from David Beligante, who sort of runs the whole show. These. It's a great community, and any community these days is nice to have.

♪ ♪

(Sheep baaing)

[Narrator] We are here at the FFA Sheep show, and we're going inside the ring with some of these kids. We've had a chance to talk to some of the best because they are showcasing the finest animals in the state.

♪ ♪

Here I've only shown twice, but showing sheep, I've been showing for six years. I won first place breeding lightweight.

[Producer] What do you like about showing sheep?

[Greeley Sloan, Alburnett] Winning and getting to have, like, a work ethic with it. And, like, I really. Sometimes I love the sheep and sometimes I really just want them to go away. But when I love them, I love them a lot. I walk them every day. You have to be confident. The sheep feeds off of that.

[Producer] Greeley, if you had to come up today and do a second, what would it be for you?

[Greeley] Life changing. It would be life changing, yes.

My family has loved this fair. My great aunt, she's been coming here for quite some time. She recently passed away. And so coming here this year is just great and just shows a lot what it means to a lot of families.

♪ ♪

(inaudible conversation)

It's crazy. We work really hard, and it's awesome to see it pay off in the ring.

[Producer] What'd you just win?

[Abby Dies, Ames] Lightweight Champion Market Ewe. Her name's Flo. It's short for Florence. I have, like, an Italian name thing with all my lambs, so I have a Florence, Luigi, Lorenzo. Yeah, I just thought it was fun. I like pasta, so go Italy. The quality here is impeccable, so it's really an honor to be able to show amongst all the great competitors here.

♪ ♪

[Matthew Samuelson, Ogden] Every sheep's different, so you kind of … I mean, you're looking at yours, you're making sure they're set right, and then you're looking at the other ones like, you know, okay, maybe I got a chance at this. And then, oh, that's a good one walking.

[Producer] What'd you just win?

Middleweight Market Ewe. It means a lot to have a fair like this. Deep classes and just, you know, barns full of sheep from here to the 4-H Show. And to win a class like that means a lot. The depth that we go in the 4-H and at the bay show, it's competitive in Iowa.

[Narrator] And that's all from the sheep barn.

♪ ♪

Would you dare to enter a Fair contest? These folks did—and here’s who came out on top today.

Scotcharoo SnackDown

1st -  Darvin Graham Toledo
2nd -  Barb Lyman-Kluck Cedar Falls
3rd -  Dawn Osmonson Sturm Waukee

Use Your Noodle

1st -  Cheryl Pike, Altoona
2nd -  Pamela Reynolds, Norwalk
3rd -  Courtney Robey, Windsor Heights

Fiddle Contest – Senior Division

1st – Kirk Brandenberger, Keokuk
2nd – Michelle Bell, Ames
3rd – Leon Johnson, Mitchellville
4th – Bettie Swarts, Indianola
5th – Billy Kearney, West Des Moines

Fiddle Contest – Adult

1st – Kat Schmidt, Des Moines
2nd – Jennie Hargrove, Van Meter
3rd – Sam Hall, Berryville, VA
4th – Ben McClure, Des Moines
5th – Lacey Partlow, Stuart

Fiddle Contest – Youth (ages 13-17)

1st – Ava Vaughn, Des Moines
2nd – Kayla Gafford, Glenwood
3rd – Afton Fincham, Ankeny
4th – Olivia Vaughn, Des Moines
5th – Eleanor Guerra, Johnston

Fiddle Contest – Youth (ages 12 and under)

1st – Isla Bowers, Des Moines
2nd – James Lee, Clive
3rd – Ellie Ryan, Carlisle
4th – Blake Meyer, Wayland
5th – Emery Fincham, Ankeny

Fine Art - Adult Drawing

Best of Show - Mary Ann Marreel, Osage  
1st -  Jessica Glaza, Waterloo
2nd -  Allison Fuller, Norwalk
3rd -  David Borzo, Des Moines

Fine Art - Sculpture

1st -  Tom Whalley, Urbandale
2nd -  Clint Petersen, Ames
3rd -  Thia Rolfes, Iowa City

Floriculture - Junior Division Fairy Garden A

1st -  Kerrigan Sergio, Ankeny
2nd -  Eloise Youngers, Ankeny
3rd -  Benjamin Lewis, Adel

Floriculture - Junior Division Fairy Garden B

1st -  Ansley Pleva, Woodward
2nd -  Phoenix Bednarz, Woodward
3rd -  Ashton Weiland, Van Meter

♪ ♪

We’re going to take a quick break, but don’t go away - there are more can’t miss moments in the second half of our show. We’ll marvel at the creativity and skill behind the crop artistry displays in the Agriculture Building. We'll turn up the volume with Bandaloni—a performance you have to see to believe, and finally, we’ll celebrate the achievements of Iowa’s youth in the FFA Parade of Champions.

You won’t want to miss a second of it. So stick around for more Iowa State Fair Highlights on Iowa PBS!

♪ ♪

(Text on screen: This or That?)

[Brooke Kohlsdorf] We want to know some of your favorite things. Are you more of a lemonade or a root beer person?

[Man 1] Definitely a lemonade.

[Woman 1] Lemonade.

[Woman 2] Root beer.

[Woman 3] Lemonade.

[Child 1] Ooh, probably root beer.

[Woman 4] I'm also a root beer person.

[Brooke] Are you corn dog or turkey leg?

[Man 1] That would be a corn dog.

[Woman 2] Corn dog.

[Woman 1] Corn dog. For sure.

[Child 1] Corn dog.

[Woman 4] Corn dog all day.

[Brooke] Sweet or savory?

[Woman 1] Ooh, probably sweet.

[Woman 4] I go on the sweet side.

[Man 2] Savory.

[Woman 2] Savory.

[Woman 3] Sweet.

[Child 1] Probably sweet.

[Woman 5] Savory.

[Man 1] Sweet.

[Brooke] Milkshake or ice cream?

[Child 1] Milkshake.

[Woman 2] Milkshake.

[Woman 1] Milkshake.

[Woman 5] Ice cream.

[Woman 4] Ice cream.

[Woman 3] Ice cream.

[Man 1] I'm going to go with the shake so I can drive. Ice cream can get messy if you're driving.

♪ ♪

Welcome back, everyone! I’m Bill Riley.

One of the first stops for many fairgoers is the Agriculture Building—and for good reason. It’s where Iowa’s agricultural roots meet pure creativity, the beauty that comes from working the land.

Charity Nebbe takes us inside to explore the artistry that makes this corner of the fair a true showstopper.

♪ ♪

[Woman] You come here to the fair to be a judge, but this is not the only category you judge.

[Man] We look at grain, we look at live plants, and it's a fabulous experience.

[Charity Nebbe] So what are your artistic credentials that you bring to this category?

[Corey Nikkel, West Des Moines] Yeah, that's where it falls off. We know the crops and the grains that are going into this, but it's on a totally different level than judging commodity crops. So we collectively probably can put together one art judge out of all of us.

[Charity] What do you think about this category?

[Linda Pollak, Guthrie Center] Oh, I think this is great. I've been doing FFA for several years, and the students have gotten so much better every year. I'm amazed at some of the art. I mean, it's incredible the way they take the most obscure parts of the plant and use them.

[Charity] The expertise that you bring is more related to crops. How do you feel you're qualified to look at these art projects?

[Erik Christian, Story City] Yeah, well, art might be on the limits of my qualifications, but certainly corn and soybeans and thinking about all the cool things you can do with it are pretty exciting. All the people that come to judge are really enthusiastic and are experts at what they do, and so that's what I enjoy.

[Corey] So our criteria, a lot of it's around originality as well as best use of the whole crop, not only just the grain.

[Corey] I'd vote for that one.

[Charity] Do you have a favorite item over there today?

[Linda] Oh, it's a little toss up between the barn scene and the rabbit.

[Charity] Ronda. The overall winner is the farm scene, but the runner up is this bunny. Tell me why you're so impressed with the bunny rabbit. I mean, it's really cute.

[Ronda Magnusson] It really is cute. And also, they've used a lot of products that we haven't had before, because you can use the whole product. You can use the corn cob, any part of corn or soybeans, and we've never had it used in that fashion before, so it's really neat.

[Larry Skellenger, Indianola] I was the floriculture superintendent many years ago. It's just kind of fun to see what the kids are doing, making sure that we're encouraging them. You know, like today with the seed art, it was so hard to make the decisions. I mean, we really, really talked about some of them.

[Julie Marlin, Tarpon Springs, Florida] These kids are so talented. It was not an easy decision for either of us. I want to tell everybody out there, submit your designs again for next year. It was … make it hard for us. Make it really hard for us next year as well.

[Charity] So you are a guest judge. This is quite the honor. How did you get the opportunity to be here?

[Julie] The Blue Ribbon Foundation. We did bid on a package at the Corn Dog Kickoff, and we won the bid. And this was one of the amazing packages that was in the entire package. And I'm so excited I got to do this. I'm gonna tell you, these kids are so creative and so accomplished.

[Charity] Do you have a favorite piece?

[Julie] I am partial to raccoons. My aunt actually had a raccoon as a pet, so I think that division was —it was really hard for me, but I loved the designs for the raccoons, for sure.

♪ ♪

[Sarah Al-Mazroa Smith, 4-H Skillathon Coordinator] So today we have the 2025, 4-H Sheep Skillathon. We have kids from all over the state that come, and they are in teams of three individuals ranging from at least one kid has to have less than three years of experience in the sheep industry, and the other two can have as much experience as they want.

These kids are going to be working together, going through five different stations, and they're going to be tested on various topics within the sheep industry, such as nutrition, health, biosecurity, breeds, and they work together to answer those questions.

[Woman 1] Is she at risk for catching the influenza from the pigs at all?

[Sarah] So we have experts here volunteering their time to be that facilitator. They judge them. It's out of 20 points, they hand in their card, and whoever has the most points wins.

[Woman 1] Why did you decide to put the… increase the distance between your healthy and sick animals with aerosols?

[Libby Dix, Mount Vernon] I've personally done it all 8 years so far of my 4-H experience. So right now we're here doing different meat labels. These are my two siblings. So it's just an opportunity to get closer to them and learn about sheep.

[Woman 2] We're gonna know your answer. That is correct. All right, question two. Which mineral is toxic to sheep if they get more than 25 parts per million in their diet?

[Ally Baumhover, 4-H Event Volunteer] So mine is focused on trace minerals and different supplementation. So I ask them questions and ask them to identify what these minerals are, and then I ask them questions on the significance that those have in their diet.

Is that what you want to go with? That is incorrect.

[Sarah] You know, you might be inexperienced within an industry, but you learn as you do it, right? Yes, it's a competition, but there's also learning that goes about it. Every year we have Skillathon, so the topics change year to year.

[Boy 1] I don't know anything about pneumonia, so.

[Caleigh Grote, 4-H Event Volunteer] A lot of its life skills, honestly, is how to take care of something to the best of their ability, provide it the best start and the best finish that they can and really be able to stick with something.

[Boy 1] I don't know what this is.

[Caleigh] So we're talking about health specifically. We're talking about some diseases and health issues of sheep. And so my station is to match some symptoms, treatments and preventions to specific diseases of sheep. And it's a tricky one, but the kids have been doing good with it.

[Woman 1] You ready to go through them?

[Grant Farnham, 4-H Event Volunteer] It's just fun to kind of get to see what the kids are up to, see what they know and get to teach them something new. While I'm learning something new. I mean, I learned today that, you know, copper can kill sheep if you give it too much.

[Weston Paul, Hardy] So I'm not very good. But, I mean, I'm trying. I'm having fun. That's the most important part. There's stuff my dad doesn't even know that we're learning. And he goes, he says, this is the best time to learn it when you're young. When you're young, it'll drill into your mind and you'll remember it forever. When you're old, you don't really want to take anyone's advice. I mean, I learn more here than I do in school.

♪ ♪

[Blair Ryan] We are here with one of the strolling acts at the Iowa State Fair, the infamous Bandaloni. Tell us what we're gonna see as you stroll around the streets. Wow.

[Bandaloni, One Man Band] Well, I basically sort of do three shows a day. 11:00, 1:00 and 3:00. Right by the Pepsi clock, by the way, which is in front of the Admin Building. So it's a one man band show. I perform with a full drum kit on my back which includes high hat, tambourine, the kick drum, a snare drum. I even have a cowbell because you can never have enough cowbell. You always need more cowbell.

I have a trick guitar here that allows me to play bass as well as rhythm guitar at the same time. I can also do open tunings. I have a microphone device here that I've made and this has three microphones on it. One is for my main vocal, one is for my harmonica, and this one is for doing real live harmonies so I can sing harmony at the same time as well.

So all together I'm doing about 10, 11 things.

♪ Sweet home Alabama ♪
♪ Lord, I'm comin' home to you ♪

♪ ♪

This is my 26th year doing this, if you can believe it. Last year I celebrated my 25th anniversary reunion tour and that's where we got the band all back together.

♪ ♪

♪ Well, I bet there's rich folks eating. ♪

[Blair] How do you keep your mind organized?

[Bandaloni] Well, surprisingly, you know what, the secret behind being a really good one man band is not to think about it. It becomes a dance routine after a while.

It's kind of like it's a flow.

[Blair] You're flowing,

[Bandaloni] I'm flowing. There's a vibe, there's a feeling and it's all about feel. You got to not think.

♪ I'm a believer ♪
♪ And not a trace ♪ 
♪ Of doubt in my mind ♪ 
♪ I’m in love, I’m a believer ♪ 
♪ I couldn’t leave her if I tried ♪

♪ ♪

I come here every year and there are so many lovely people that come up and thank me for being here and are grateful and come out to the shows. And I love that as well. And it's just become a really great symbiotic relationship between us all where we all just kind of have a good time, we have fun and we forget about our troubles as we know there's many in the world today.

And it's a really great opportunity just to get together, have some smiles, some laughs and celebrate joy.

All right, I'll wear them out, you take them home, folks.

♪ ♪
The talent just won’t quit. Today’s Riley Stage competition was packed with show-stopping moments—here’s who’s moving forward.

The names, ages, hometowns and routines of the sprouts acts are:

Reese Freml, 11, Johnston, Tap Dance Solo
Harper Schrader, 7, Mapleton; Viviani Hernandez, 7, Denison; Jemma Frehse, 7, Denison; Tap Dance Trio
Harper Wittmer, 12, Muscatine, Vocal Solo
Lexia Leone, 12, Panora, Lyrical Dance Solo

The names, ages, hometowns and routines of the senior acts are:

Lily Bruening, 18, Sioux City, Vocal Solo
Claire Ovel, 14, Cedar Rapids, Vocal & Guitar Solo
Emersynn Harter, 18, Norwalk, Baton Solo
Dawson Huinker, 15, Clive, Musical Theatre Vocal Solo
Lucy Grey, 17, Bettendorf, Vocal & Piano Solo

Catch the Talent Championships this Sunday, August 17 at 8pm on Iowa PBS.

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The Iowa State Fair is all about fun - and the Fair Police work really hard to keep it that way. We spent some time behind the scenes to see how they make the fairgrounds safe for everyone.

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[Commander Darin VanRyswyk, Iowa State Fair Police Department] How you doing, buddy? Have a good day at the fair.

We're going to go over to gate 11 here. It's one of our busiest gates. It's the main entry point on the west side. At every gate we have at least one guard on the gate. Last year when we looked at gate 11, we realized that for foot traffic it was the only ingress point on the west side of the grounds and it sees a tremendous amount of traffic.

So fair made a quick decision last year that we would open gate 13A, which is a pedestrian pass through just north of gate 13. And it allows the pressure on gate 11 to be decreased. We also put a big sidewalk in.

We'll wander down to gate 10. Our number one goal is to enhance the safety of the fairgoers as much as reasonably possible.

We partner with other agencies. State Patrol obviously is a huge partner. They bring a tremendous amount of resources and professionalism. But we have over 60 part time police officers and about 40 armed security officers and about 40 unarmed security officers. But that's fair time.

The rest of the time we operate on a crew of eight people. But this is gate 10 and this is the Dart transit gate. This one is meant only for people that use the park and ride, which is a fantastic program. It saves the headache of parking, right? Such a fun thing to go somewhere and then you get there and you're like, okay, where do I park?

Starting this year, they were allowing people to bring food and drink in. Obviously no weapons, no alcohol. But if you want to bring a soft sided cooler with food, that's fantastic. If you want to bring your morning coffee in, that's great, bring it in. I think the decision was made that it just is not going to impact the bottom line of the fair, but it's going to enhance the experience for the fairgoers so much.

And honestly, it saves hassles at the gates. It makes it more efficient to get in.

[Producer] Does it have any impact on safety efforts?

[Cmdr. VanRyswyk] I don't believe so. I think that, you know, we work closely with CSC, we test their mags every morning.

Very positive partnership in how we manage gates throughout the grounds.

Let's walk over and talk about pedestrian safety and our vehicle barriers. And so this year we significantly limited the use of carts. We effectively have a red area where you just don't drive a cart. We have a yellow area where we tell staff and vendors you need to use discretion.

And then we have the green areas which tend to be the outer perimeter. And that has been just a fabulous way to get things done. New this year, these archer barriers by Meridian are designed to stop a vehicle. Now we've got them spaced where a golf cart would fit through them, but a car, they would either have to slow down and try to get through, which would give us the opportunity to intervene better. Or if they tried to ram these, they will, they will stop a car pretty well.

You know, it's created more work for us, but that's what we're here for. So, you know, I don't want people to have to worry about safety. I'll do that. When I tell people I work for the state fair, they get excited about it, which I'm excited about it. I think I might have the best job in law enforcement.

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[Brooke Kohlsdorf] More than 2,000 students with almost 10,000 entries come to the state fair each year to compete for top honors. There are 13 categories including everything from photography to livestock. And the winners come here to the livestock pavilion to take a well deserved victory lap.

In the Ag Mechanics & Technology show there were 91 exhibits shown by 87 members representing 44 chapters.

The Overall Grand Champion Restored Tractor, is the Oliver 1950-T, restored by Brandon Groenendyk, Nate Patterson and Cameron Dykstra from Pella Christian FFA. Brandon is driving with Nate and Cameron on the hayrack.

The Champion Restored Farm Equipment, a hayrack, is exhibited by Tucker DeWild of Agri-Power at Eddyville.

The Champion Medium Metal Working and Innovation Award winner sponsored by Praxidyn was awarded to Colton Netolicky from Cedar Rapids Prairie with his electric car.

Bryce Roquet was awarded Champion Large Metal Working award for his tile trailer.

Exhibiting the Champion Computer Design/Metal Art project was Addyson Cronin of Albia with her American Flag Welding Business Sign.

Alexis Olson from Panorama exhibited the Champion Small Metal Working exhibit with her welded log.

The Champion Indoor Woodworking project was awarded to Grace Wolterman from Carroll Area with her bed footboard.

Laine Christie of Panorama exhibited the Champion Restored Tractor 1959 and Later, with a 1963 Massey Ferguson 97.

The Champion Restored Tractor 1958 and Prior was exhibited by Brock Soppe with his Farmall H.

Kendric Langreck from South Winneshiek at Calmar restored the 1961 Panzer T70b. The exhibit was awarded the Champion Restored Garden Tractor.

This year, 1086 photographs were brought to the fair by 377 exhibitors from 92 chapters.

The Grand Champion Overall Photo was exhibited by Emma Raylynn White of Indianola. 
Gabe Moermond of South O’Brien exhibited the Reserve Grand Champion Overall Photo.

In the Farm Crops Division, 67 students from 22 chapters had 360 exhibits that were judged here. At the Iowa State fair, there were 840 exhibits in the horticulture division shown by 53 FFA members from 27 chapters.

The High Point Sweepstakes Award Winner is Ellen Olson from Calamus-Wheatland. She also exhibited the Grand Champion Popcorn & Ornamental with her Single Ear Ornamental Corn and Reserve Champion Sheaf Grains with her Late Season Oats.

The Reserve Premier Exhibit and First Place in Field Corn Division were awarded to Caedyn Huston from Mid-Prairie at Wellman.

The Soybean Division Champion was exhibited by Aubrey Olson from Forest City. Aubrey also has with her the Champion Forages, Grasses and Legumes exhibit from Max Hitchison from Forest City with his Alfalfa Sheaf.

Belle Werner from Benton Community at Van Horne exhibited the Reserve Champion Sweepstake and Reserve Champion Forages, Grasses and Legumes with her Smooth Bromegrass.

Olevia Olson of Calamus-Wheatland exhibited the Champion Small Grains, Legumes (la-gooms) and Speciality Crops with her Early Season Oats.

Exhibiting the Reserve Champion Winter Wheat was Cali Stocker of Albia. 3.7 The Champion Sheaf Grains Division and Reserve Champion Field Corn were exhibited by John Shepard from Albia.

The Reserve Champion Mid-Season Soybeans were exhibited by Cole Stocker from Albia.

The Premier Horticulture Exhibitor was Aiden Anderson from Central Plains at Gowrie.

The Grand and Reserve Jumbo Vegetables as well as the Grand and Reserve Table Vegetables, were exhibited by Taylor Miller of Fairfield.

The Reserve Champion Container Basket was exhibited by Josie Messmore from Hudson.

71 students from 24 chapters brought 767 flowers to the fair for judging. In the Floriculture division, this is Chloe Zittogruen. She is both a participant in the parade and president of the Iowa FFA Association. This year will be my fourth time walking in the parade of Champions. All for floriculture.

[Chloe] The parade is insanely important to me. One from the experiences that I've had being able to walk into it but also getting to highlight the members of IOFFA and seeing their hard work. Yes, you do get a ribbon, but no one sees the work that you do at home in the barn or that you do out in the garden.

Allie Whetstine of Mid-Prairie at Wellman exhibited the Champion and Reserve Champion Marigold.

Exhibiting the Champion Petunia was Lauren Keeler from West Branch.

Harlee West from Mid-Prairie at Wellman exhibited the Reserve Champion Petunia.

Stella Janecek from Mid-Prairie at Wellman had the Champion Zinnia.

The Reserve Champion Zinnia was shown by Bridget Fisher from Mid-Prairie at Wellman.

Exhibiting the Reserve Champion All Other Flower was Ellie Callahan from Mid-Prairie at Wellman.

Earning the Award of Excellence, Grand Champion Sweepstakes Exhibitor and Grand Champion Showmanship was Chloe Zittergruen from Tri-County at Thornburg. She also exhibited the Grand Champion and Reserve Dahlia as well as the Grand Champion and Reserve Gladiola. Walking the Dahlias is Aubrey Zittergruen, also from Tri-County at Thornburg.

The Rabbit show had 285 exhibits that were brought to the fairgrounds by 43 members from 28 chapters. The poultry show saw 52 exhibitors from 34 chapters bring 527 exhibits to the Iowa State Fair for competition.

The Best in Show Rabbit, also Best Four Class Rabbit, was exhibited by Ethan Hoogendoorn of Central Lyon at Rock Rapids.

Cooper McCarty from Davis County at Bloomfield exhibited the Best of Show Six Class Breed.

Garrett Von Stein from Bondurant-Farrar earned the Grand Champion Overall Market Bird with his Grand Champion Market Turkey.

The Grand Champion Overall Market Bird was awarded to Hayden Lowry of Lynnville-Sully.

The Avenue of Breeds is celebrating its 47th year at the fair. The North Polk FFA chapter at Alleman, which is responsible for the exhibit has more 90 animals on display.

The Chianina is led by Beckett Anderson of North Polk at Alleman. It is owned by Jerry & Jean Johnson of Polk City, Iowa.

The Gypsy Vanner owned by Eric & Karah Ringenberg of Ackley, Iowa is led by Dylan Tweat of North Polk FFA at Alleman.

There were 1,030 exhibits in the Swine division. In the commercial Gilt division alone there were 253 animals shown by 198 FFA members from 107 chapters. In the sheep show, 711 exhibits were shown in three divisions. On its own. The market lamb division had 334 animals that were brought to the fair by 196 exhibitors from 111 chapters.

Nicholas Vogel of Central Plains at Gowrie exhibited the Grand Champion Carcass Live.

Exhibiting Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion Carcass Rail was Derek Bohrn from Pekin.

The Grand Champion Market Hog was exhibited by Grant Petty from Atlantic.

The Reserve Champion Market Hog was exhibited by Caleigh Lewis of Center Point-Urbana.

The Supreme Reserve Champion Breeding Gilt was exhibited by Jillian Woodruff of Central Plains at Gowrie.

The Champion Registered Breeding Gilt was exhibited Mady Gibson of Nevada.

Landon Witt of Ottumwa exhibited the Grand Champion Carcass Lamb.

The beef show had 282 exhibits. Judges in just the Breeding Beef show looked at 215 animals from 92 chapters exhibited by 176 members.

The Champion Window A Performance Beef was exhibited by Carson Bauer (Bow-er) of Audubon.

The Reserve Champion Window B Performance Beef was exhibited by Austin Lyman of AGWSR at Ackley.

The Reserve Champion Window C Performance Beef was exhibited by Macey Bauer from Audubon.

Ethan Graber from Mt. Pleasant showed the Supreme Breeding Bull with his Purebred Simmental.

Macy Schroeder from Pella showed the Champion Cow/Calf Pair. Walking the calf is Carter Schroeder who is also from Pella.

The Champion Simmental Cow/Calf Pair was exhibited by Keegan Bailey from Creston. Kadley Bailey from Creston is walking the calf.

Ava Long from Agri-Power at Eddyville exhibited the Supreme Champion Breeding Heifer. Ava also exhibited the Champion Commercial Heifer.

The Reserve Champion Breeding Heifer was exhibited by Cody Vroegh of Agri-Power at Eddyville. Cody also exhibited the Reserve Champion Commercial Heifer and Champion Chianina Heifer.

Exhibiting the Champion Angus Heifer was Abby Findley from Agri-Power at Eddyville.

Exhibiting the Champion Red Angus Foundation Heifer was Katie Miller from Crooked Creek at Winfield.

Hunter Kress exhibited Champion High % Main Anjou Heifer from AC-GC at Guthrie Center.

Greyson Belcher from Agri-Power at Eddyville exhibited the Champion Maine Angus Heifer.

Kelly Marshek from Lone Tree won Champion Shorthorn Heifer.

The Dairy Cattle show included 65 animals shown by 28 exhibitors representing 17 chapters.

The Grand Champion Senior Guernsey was exhibited by Kerigan Alexander from North Fayette Valley; She was also awarded Champion Overall Guernsey.

Taylor Sparrgrove exhibited the Champion Senior Milking Shorthorn and the Overall Champion Milking Shorthorn from Hudson.

The dairy cattle show had 65 animals shown by 28 members from 17 FFA chapters.

63 FFA members from 44 chapters brought 93 entries to the Iowa State Fair in the horse division.

Kara Flickinger was awarded Champion High-Point Exhibitor, Champion Showmanship and Champion English Equestrian.

Toby Doane from Sigourney was awarded the Champion Mule Halter.

On behalf of the more than 20,000 Iowa FFA Association members, we thank the Iowa State Fair Board for their commitment in helping Iowa’s youth live out the FFA mission, to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. Please help us in recognizing the Iowa State Fair board members for their support. (Applause) Thank you for all you do. Enjoy the rest of the fair.

Congratulations to everyone who participated this year.

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[Travis Graven] Boy, do we have a royal treat for you. The Flying Royals, whose high flying, heart stopping acrobatic extravaganza is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

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April, what are the Flying Royals?

[April Chodkowski, The Flying Royals Troupe Leader] So we are one of the only crisscrossing trapeze acts in the world. We travel all over the United States and we performed internationally in several countries. We use three bars and the catcher simultaneously sharing the airspace, coming up with different patterns and maneuvers that can only be done on our rigging.

It does take a lot of practice because we're trying to do stuff that no one else is doing in the air.

We're here at the Iowa State Fair. It gives us a chance to do something a little different every day so the audience doesn't sit and see the same 30 minute show over and over again.

The other benefit of changing our routine as frequently as we do is that it gives everybody a chance to either like grow their really big skills for a week or kind of take a step back and let your body rest and be on the kind of easier track maybe that week.

Now during this performance, ladies and gentlemen, you're going to see a wide variety of tricks and skills on the trapeze. From beginning swings and maneuvers to the more advanced feats across to the hands of our catcher. Now, some of the maneuvers. T

The trapeze is a game of inches. We do everything we can to make it successful. Consistency is key, but we do try to make it look as easy as we can.

The crowds here have just been so expansive. It's incredible to be up there 35 feet in the air and just look around and it's a sea of people and everybody's excited to be there watching us.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Tony, Tony and Levi.

[Travis] What'd you think of the show?

[Jessica Brewbaker-Hills, Des Moines] Oh, I loved it. I've been interested in aerial since I was really little, so this is a thrill to see.

[Travis] You were, you know, loudly cheering and clapping and very enthusiastic. I'm sure they probably heard you and played off your energy.

[Jessica] Oh yeah, exactly. I know how hard they work. Cause I'm actually in trapeze class right now, so I want to try to appreciate them as best I can.

[April] Together we are the Flying Royals. Have a great day out there at the Iowa State Fair.

Well, PBS, this is Justin Chodkowski here at the Flying Royals. We hope you thoroughly enjoyed that edition of Meet the Royals and Royal Spectacular. We hope you come again and we'll see you soon.

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Well my friends, we’ve come to the end of another hour of Fair Highlights, but there is so much more. We have three more nights of coverage for you. But if you can’t wait until tomorrow night we’re sharing even more fair moments on our website, our YouTube channel, and the PBS App, as well as our Facebook and Instagram pages. Check in with us anytime and join the celebration from wherever you are.

Of course, we’ll be back tomorrow night with another line up of fair favorites, packed with competition. Where the whiskers are wild at the beard growing contest.  The engines roar at the truck and tractor pulls, and the kids dig deep for victory on the pedal tractor track. You won’t want to miss it.

So thanks for joining us as we share the stories and traditions that make the Iowa State Fair so special. It’s always an honor to be your guide.

Until tomorrow night, I’m Bill Riley. Have fun at the fair!

(Credits roll on screen)

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FAIR

Host
Bill Riley

Executive Producer
Theresa Knight

Editors/Production Assistants
Julie Knutson
Neal Kyer

Segment Producers
Judy Blank
Patrick Boberg
Dan Bolsem
Laurel Bower
Tyler Brinegar
Andrea Coyle
Travis Graven
Deb Herbold
Emily Kestel
Colleen Krantz
Kelsey Kremer
Cameron McCoy
David Miller
Rachel Mummey
Keila Perez Serrano
John Torpy
Peter Tubbs
Paul Yeager

Videographers
Darrin Clouse
Scott Faine
Eric Gooden
Mark Haugen
Kenny Knutson

Editors
Reid Denker
Kevin Rivers

Audio
David Feingold

Technical Director
Reid Denker

Camera
Liam Brennan
John Coleman
Marley Cerveny
Chris Gourley

Engineer in Charge
Kevin Rivers

Field Reporters
Abby Brown
Travis Graven
Brooke Kohlsdorf
Dana Lain
Charity Nebbe
Blair Ryan
Hayley Schaefer

Motion Graphics
Bo Dodge
Brent Willett

Production Assistance
Tiffany Clouse

Production Supervisor
Sean Ingrassia

Graphics
Joe Bustad

Creative Director
Alisa Dodge

Digital Team
Robert Canada
Matt Clark
Danny Engesser
Abby Friedmeyer
Randy Garza
Gavin Jensen

Communications Team
Caryline Clark
Matt Clark
Bo Dodge
Hayley Schaefer
Dan Wardell

Engagement Manager
Caryline Clark

Director of Communications
Susan Ramsey

Director of Emerging Media
Taylor Shore

Director of Content
Cameron McCoy

Executive Director & General Manager
Andrew Batt

Copyright 2025
Iowa PBS
iowapbs.org

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