Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Events topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Linn County Fair Association seeks county grant support, highlights growth and accessibility work
Summary
Fair organizers presented to the Board of Supervisors seeking Linn County Land/Legacy and Community Attraction Fund support for FY2026, highlighting new family attractions, accessibility upgrades, volunteer operations and regional economic impact figures.
Representatives of the Linn County Fair Association told the Linn County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 6 that the fair is expanding attractions and infrastructure and requested the board’s support for a FY2026 Linn County Land/Legacy and Community Attraction Fund grant application.
Jennifer Dunn, who identified herself as a representative of the Linn County Fair, described several new and returning fair features: a STEM interactive exhibit called “Riddle Me This,” AgriGolf (a mini‑golf course with agricultural facts at each hole), new arena and horse‑area renovations, expanded concrete and ADA‑focused access improvements, additional shade sites, and continued volunteer staffing. Dunn said the fair remains volunteer‑run, that concert attendance at a recent country concert headlined by Dylan Scott produced the largest single event the fair has held, and that organizers contracted a marketing firm this year to help outreach.
Guests included Ann Shuster and Mark Traister of the Association of Iowa Fairs’ Northeast district, who praised Linn County’s infrastructure improvements and noted the fair had won the district “blue ribbon” award in 2023. Shuster said county fairs create multigenerational memories and foster agricultural education through 4‑H and FFA programs.
Dunn pointed supervisors to packet materials that included statewide county-fair funding and attendance numbers and an independent study that the presenters described as indicating meaningful per‑day fiscal impact for fairs in the Heartland region. In the presentation staff cited figures from the International Fairs/Expos material included in the packet (meeting transcript references $58,144 fiscal impact per fair day for a referenced group and a Heartland regional average figure included in packet materials).
Supervisors thanked the presenters and indicated continued support for the fair; no formal county funding decision took place at the Oct. 6 meeting — presenters were seeking endorsement and support for the upcoming grant application process.
