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Corn Palace board approves limits on Shriners concessions, authorizes director to sign artist contracts for festival
Summary
The Corn Palace board voted to ask the director to limit duplicate items sold by Shriners at the 2025 circus concession stands and authorized the director to sign contracts for two unnamed festival artists after an executive session. Members also received updates on plaza stage work, new chairs and interest from local performers.
The Corn Palace board voted to limit duplicate items sold by the Shriners at their concession stands during the 2025 circus and authorized the Corn Palace director to sign contracts for two unnamed artists for the Corn Palace Festival, board members said at a meeting that included an executive session.
The Corn Palace director told the board the venue is preparing for the festival and that new chairs have been ordered. "They've been ordered," the director said, and added staff are still completing logo placement and other preparations. The director said the plaza stage and performer selections remain active items as the board finalizes festival plans.
The board discussed vendor and performer interest. A board member reported receiving an email saying Shane Funk, identified in the message as manager for Jud Hoos Plus Denim (performing as Juliet Motel), had expressed interest in appearing at the Corn Palace. A board member said local pricing for performances generally "depends" and noted indoor versus outdoor arrangements affect fees; specific contract amounts were not specified in the meeting.
During open business a board member moved "to minimize the duplicate items that the Shriners are selling at their concession stands during the 2025 circus." A second was offered and the motion carried following a voice vote; the transcript does not record a roll-call tally. The board clarified the directive applies to Corn Palace-managed concessions sold by the Shriners during the circus.
Later the board entered executive session. After returning, the board moved to "authorize the Corn Palace director to sign the contracts for the 2 unnamed artists for Corn Palace Festival for Thursday and Saturday as discussed in executive session." A second was made, and the motion carried by voice vote; specific contract details and artist names were not disclosed in the public transcript.
Procedural business at the meeting included approval of the agenda and minutes and a motion to enter executive session; each passed by voice vote. The meeting record shows staff noted a temporary replacement for lost audiovisual equipment and plans for an upgraded system with picture-in-picture and zoom features.
Board members said they will continue to finalize festival logistics, vendor arrangements and seating, and that additional details on performers and contracts will be released once negotiations and any required approvals are complete. The transcript does not specify contract amounts, artist names, or the content of the executive-session discussion.
