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Donor proposes 41-acre gift, $3 million pledge tied to $4 million county match for Kossuth County fairgrounds revamp
Summary
A local donor, Donald Teets, has offered 41 acres and pledged $3 million—$300,000 annually for 10 years—if the county provides a $4 million match and agrees to a development plan; supervisors say financing, TIF impact and land-use details require more study.
Don Teets has offered to donate 41 acres south of the Kossuth County fairgrounds and pledged $3,000,000 toward a multi-phase fairgrounds redevelopment, but he tied the gift to conditions that would require significant county involvement and financial matching.
At the Nov. 11 Board of Supervisors meeting, a letter from Teets was read into the record. The letter says Teets will convey 41 acres along Highway 169 to Kossuth County provided he obtains a “Form 82 83” from the IRS for $1,000,000; Teets pledged $3,000,000 payable as $300,000 per year for 10 years beginning March 10, 2027. In return, Teets requested that the county repair the grandstand consistent with an engineering plan, prepare a general development plan for the existing fairgrounds plus the 41-acre parcel, and match his contribution with at least $4,000,000 to be spent on development of the donated land. The letter also requests that the county and other parties establish an agreeable timeline and that Teets receive naming rights for the new property.
Scott, a fairgrounds volunteer who addressed the board, said volunteers have raised roughly $1.3 million for the grandstand already and that the immediate plan is to finish a separate concession stand this year and complete the grandstand in a subsequent phase. He said the project envisions other uses for the site beyond racing and the county fair.
Supervisors asked for clarification on which improvements would be funded by Teets— pledge and which would require county funds. Several supervisors emphasized that a county contribution of that size would almost certainly rely on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) or other financing mechanisms and said they needed a clear accounting of TIF balances, outstanding county debt and projected budgets before committing. One supervisor noted the decision would not be made this year because of timing and statutory requirements for public financing decisions.
Board members also urged the fairgrounds group to solicit more public input on grandstand size and usage. Several trustees suggested the supervisors need comprehensive financial information and a concrete development plan before agreeing to match the donor—s pledge. The board committed to clarifying outstanding questions — including the precise allocation of the $4 million county contribution and whether any portion would be spent on existing fairground improvements — and to put the item on a future agenda for further discussion.
What happens next: Supervisors directed staff to gather TIF and debt figures and to work with planning and zoning to present clearer cost estimates and a development plan at a future meeting. The fairgrounds volunteers asked for public input sessions to refine grandstand size and fundraising priorities.
Note on the record: the donor letter as read into the record includes dates and amounts as quoted above. Several numeric items in the public record (for example, an IRS form designation and one lease end date mentioned elsewhere in today—s meeting) appear in the transcript in a form that may be typographical or shorthand; the article reproduces the phrasing as presented at the meeting rather than correcting ambiguous identifiers.
