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‘It’s just the most Iowan thing’: A day at the Iowa State Fair with fair mega-fans, the Stumps

Since his freshman year of high school in 1969, Gary Stump has not missed an Iowa State Fair. “I had a girlfriend whose father worked at the fair and he got free tickets for everything,” Stump recalls. “And then when […]

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Contact Buzz: The history of the Iowa State Fair’s old, inclusive art show

Shawn Palek doesn’t enter competitions any longer. Lately, he prefers to sponsor shows and competitions for emerging artists, mentoring many. He continues to paint new works, with many murals to his credit. But in the early 2000s, the contemporary visual […]

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‘I’m not a scientist’: Gov. Reynolds on face masks; the Iowa State Fair opens as COVID cases keep climbing

The Iowa State Fair opened its 11-day run on Thursday with limited COVID-19 precautions, even though new data from the Iowa Department of Public Health showed new cases of the virus are continuing to increase rapidly and the number of […]

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Reynolds lifts most of the few remaining COVID-19 restrictions, Iowa State Fair Board cancels 2020 fair

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on Wednesday she is eliminating more restrictions imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19. “Effective Friday, June 12, at 8 a.m., the 50 percent capacity limit currently in place for businesses will be lifted,” the governor […]

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Footnotes on the 2020 Caucus: A first-time voter encounters buddy-buddy candidates and rude reporters at the Iowa State Fair

The annual two-week phenomenon that is the Iowa State Fair is well-known for its amply supply of pigs, people, meals on sticks and, once every four years, its parade of presidential candidates. Livestock gets judged in the various barns at the fairgrounds, and candidates get judged at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox […]

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Joe Biden to return to Iowa City before going to the Iowa State Fair, where his 1988 presidential campaign fell apart

Joe Biden is returning Iowa City on Wednesday for a meet-and-greet at his Kennedy Plaza campaign headquarters. The stop comes one day before the former vice president and current 2020 candidate takes the stage at the Iowa State Fair’s Political Soapbox, sponsored by the Des Moines Register. […]

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