Mighty Howard County Fair Hosts Appreciation Supper

The kick-off to fair week appreciation event is always held the week before and is repeatedly a positive thing year-after-year.  However, the buzz around the building, rumors of something “big” happening,  led to much anticipation on getting the supper started.

   Tom Barnes, secretary of the fair for several decades, opened up the venue announcing that a new $1.7 million Legacy Hall will be built on the fairgrounds. The facility would be attached to the current Featherlite building going north, and would seat up to 600 people at events, with a partition also in place to host two events at the same time. The building would be big enough to drive in large equipment for shows, such as tractors and RVs, and have a kitchen, huge bathrooms and more. 

It would replace the old Expo Center, which needed many updates, costing as much as $650,000 to $750,000.  The Expo Center will still remain, however, for smaller venues. (A complete article about the new facility and fundraiser on the front page of today’s TPD newspaper). A video was played ahead of everyone eating a wonderful meal with pork loin provided by the Elma Locker, salads and more by McAllister’s Catering of Cresco. Upon finishing the informative and uplifting video, members of the Howard County Fair Committee handed out brochures for the fund-raising part in building the new Legacy Hall, with Mr. Barnes encouraging everyone to “support the project” and noting that it takes “people like you” to make it happen!

Following the meal, Tom Barnes went on to thank all those involved with the upcoming 2026 Mighty Howard County Fair and to update everyone on what all is happening on the fairgrounds.  

“You just have to know that it’s not just  a few volunteers that make a fair happen, but an entire army!” stated Barnes, who went on to praise the supporters, the HC Fair Board & Committee, and all the county communities.  

   Another important “fact” for the upcoming fair is how much of an economic impact it makes for the area.

   “We were part of a study on how much of an economic impact county fairs have across the United States and especially in Iowa.  For all Iowa Fairs, the impact is a remarkable $1.4 billion on the state of Iowa.  For the Mighty Howard County Fair, it’s $9.4 million for just the fair.  If you include the speedway races, the Expo Center activities and other events, it goes to $13.3 million. 

“That’s a lot of money folks,” stated Barnes, who was equally impressed when he saw the numbers released through the study. “You just can’t take those kind of numbers for granted.  It shows our fair board is not afraid to take chances.”

Another attraction updated for the 2026 fair season was the Ticket Booth located at the entrance.  Thanks to the Howard County Historical Society, all was fixed, including a new roof, windows, door, lighting and more.  

“That booth was something I remembered as a kid, paying the 50-cents to get in,” stated Barnes. “Just nice that the Historical Society made that effort.”

First and foremost was the new “Tom Barnes” interactive area where a small barn was built with many activities for children happening inside.  Named after Mr. Barnes, the idea was to create an facility that offered continued ag education in allowing hands-on activities.  A large supporter was Farm Bureau, but many businesses, farm families and individuals donated to make this happen.

   “This is really a neat facility and I just can’t thank the Farm Bureau folks enough and the vision in making this project happen,” said Barnes.  “We have some interactive kiosks inside including Maggie the Cow, where kids can actually milk by hand. Just some really fun stuff for the kids will be taking place there. Really excited about this addition.”

   “County fairs are the last ag education you’ll see for kids,” added Barnes in his introduction. “You look at the fair and the many youth programs offered by 4-H and FFA.  They do a tremendous job in offering quality programs and this special barn will now be a part of that.”

He also commented about several new displays the Howard County Historical Society will have on display during the fair in their museum.  

   “Be sure to take the time to go and visit the museum.  That group seems to always have great displays and really take the time to make them special.”

Barnes went on to announce the 2026 Fair and praised the slogan, “Join us for five fun filled, affordable days for the entire family!”

“There is never a dull moment around our fairgrounds,” said Barnes. “We’ve put a lot of time and money in our fairgrounds and it shows. So, just come out and enjoy the many activities, food and more!”

   With Fair Week comes the Mighty Howard County Queen and Princess contest, which will take place on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. at the Scheidel Plaza. 

The three judges were attending the Appreciation Dinner and introduced by Barnes, with two reigning from Minnesota and another from Iowa.   

First was Cristi Masters, who owns Gift to Gab in LeRoy, MN and specializes in weddings, prom and more.  She has done over 1,000 weddings with her floral.   Second was Jess Abrahamson of KTTC News in Rochester, MN with the third judge being Les Askelson of 103.5 FM and K-VIK of Decorah. 

Barnes went on to introduce the 2025 Fair Queen Kennedy Linkenmeyer and Fair Princess Kenzie Moellers.  

Both gave excellent speeches on their experience as queen and princess, offering plenty of “thank you’s” and “how much fun” they had in promoting and representing the fair. 

Running for 2026 are Mally Linkenmeyer, Lindsey Johnson, Claire Kach, Toni Thiele and Madalyn Fritcher-Larson. All were dressed beautifully and answered their unrehearsed question with good thought and ethics in mind.

   Again, the Queen Contest will be held on Wednesday night, at 5:30 p.m. on the Scheidel Plaza stage.  

In closing, Barnes wished the candidates “the best of luck” and encouraged everyone to attend the fair and enjoy what’s offered!