Episode 28 The Iowa State Fair!!!

Love it or hate it? We are talking all things fair this week! R.J. and Fred jump off the serious train and dive deep into the Iowa State Fair. First off are some fun facts. Then guys go over the main talked about topics of the fair. They cover the Grandstand lineup, places they enjoy going, and of course the overpriced food at the fair! We hope this episode either keeps the love that you had for the fair or invites some newcomers. BON APPÉTIT!

Resources

https://www.iowastatefair.org/about/trivia/

https://www.iowastatefair.org/entertainment/grandstand

https://www.iowastatefair.org/visit/fairgrounds-map

https://www.iowastatefair.org/food/whats-new

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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:15

Hello and welcome to This Is The Day Show. I'm your host, RJ Cole. And I'm Fred Graham. Thank you once again for tuning in to another episode. You can also check out our videos on Rumble and on YouTube. Our podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and also iHeartRadio. If you like our show, we would ask that you subscribe, follow, and also write us a wonderful five-star review. Thank you to everyone that continues to promote our show. Thank you for liking and sharing it. We have a few ways for you to interact with us. You can email our show at this is the day show at gmail.com. We can also be found on X at This Is The Day Show without the W. And we're on Facebook. So search us up by looking for This Is The Day Show. There's also an option to text our show. Select the episode that you are about to listen to. Look on the top left of the episode, and it will say send us a text. Feel free to send us any questions, feedback, or interest that you may have. And onto the show.

SPEAKER_05 1:25

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 1:26

So, bud, I can't ask him about his week. And why can't I ask you about your week, Mr. Fred? Well, because this episode has been pre-recorded. And what do we like to call these pre-recorded shows? It's an evergreen. So every time you hear about an evergreen, you know it's pre-recorded, and we are away for a while.

unknown 1:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:46

Yep. So we hope you enjoy this wonderful episode. I know I'm going to. Absolutely. I just hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Enjoying it right now, I'm gonna enjoy it later and again and again. It's gonna be your favorite show, isn't it? Yes, yes. The first evergreen.

SPEAKER_04 2:09

It's historic. Yeah, it is. So, main topic today. This show is gonna be about the one and only Iowa State Fair. Did you know, Fred, that it is the greatest fair in the United States?

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think we normally hold number one pretty, pretty much.

SPEAKER_04 2:34

I mean, I've never been anywhere else, but uh it's number one in my heart.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

It's definitely number one in Iowa. I've been to a couple of county fairs and they're uh they're not as good.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

Maybe their uh animal barn is like one horse, one donkey type situation.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

It's his personal horse in his house. The one that's missing hair. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:59

Yeah. So this year, the fair is gonna run from the 13th of August through the 22nd. So 23rd, 23rd. 23rd. Excuse me. So let's start off with some of the fun facts as usual, shall we? It's hard to talk today, absolutely shall.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

Alright, hit me up, Brad. So did you know? Uh I didn't. That the first Iowa State Fair was held October 25th through the 27th, back in 1854, and that was in Fairfield, Iowa, 20 years before America's great Westward movement began. Sad to say, I don't know where Fairfield is. Fairfield's out by Bloom uh Burlington.

SPEAKER_04 3:49

Oh. Yeah. That's okay, that's a ways out there.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Yeah, right out the Mississippi.

SPEAKER_04 3:55

Okay. Makes sense back in 1854.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Yeah. Not everybody, I don't know if you played Oregon Trail, but not everybody can cross that Mississippi.

SPEAKER_04 4:04

I have played Oregon Trail a time or two. Yeah. The new one, not as good as the old one. Dude, bring back the floppy disk, but. Yeah. And that's a whole nother topic because half of you probably don't know what a floppy disc is. But, anyways, the fair moved to its present address at East 30th and East University in 1886. So 32 years later, it came to Des Moines. That's pretty cool. Therefore, the fairgrounds are just over 130 years old.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

I did not know that.

SPEAKER_04 4:36

Neither did I. That seems really early.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Yeah. I wondered what it looked like. Kind of not enough to really like carry.

SPEAKER_04 4:42

Probably like a county fair, probably. Yeah, more than likely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

So uh cool story alert. Okay, what do you got? Baby mine was a four-foot one thousand one hundred and sixty-pound baby elephant that 15,000 Iowa read register and tribute. Wow, the Iowa. Oh my goodness, I cannot read baby elephant that 15,000 Iowa children have purchased for the fair. The kids sent in nearly a thousand dollars in nickels and dimes, the register and tribune, the Iowa State Fair Board, and others assumed the re assumed the rest of the third$3,600 cost. Baby Mine debuted wow debuted at the 1929 fair and 25,000 children showed up for the first day of the fair to greet him. That was a rough story.

SPEAKER_03 6:00

Not cool story, Lord. No, I'm just kidding. Ums are hard.

SPEAKER_04 6:05

I wonder. We won't do the math on air. I wonder how much$1,000 back then was now. Dude, I probably quite a bit.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Well, and I I I wondered when I actually read this correctly in my head. Um I wondered if those 25,000 kids were the ones that, like, that was basically the ones that paid for it and was like, hey, yeah, that was the elephant.

SPEAKER_04 6:30

Well, that'd be 10,000 extra kids, but yeah, probably. Yeah. I imagine they'd be like, hey, you pay for the elephant, come on in.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:37

I mean, I would.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:39

But now you know. I'm not a heartless man just trying to make money either. They don't tell you what happened to the elephant. Oh, when they were done with it, the 15,000 kids ate him.

unknown 6:50

I'd have no idea.

SPEAKER_04 6:52

It was a rough time. It was it was, you know, back in the. So I wonder how long they live, because if that would have been 1929, oh, that's around the depression years, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 7:03

That's bye, baby mine. Iowa State Fair that kept giving. So one more thing.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

Is it kind of a dumb name, baby mine? Dude, they make dumb names for animals all the time, but not baby yours. Here's the real question that I was getting at. Do you think in like 1932 or wait, what was it? 1929. So, like, let's just say 1934. You think they had elephant on a stick?

SPEAKER_04 7:39

Isn't there a pastry where it's called like an elephant's foot? It's just that flat pastry. I don't know. I don't, I'm not sure. Anyways, let's let's let's move on. Let's leave the baby mine alone. So in 2002, fair attendance topped one million with 1,8,174 people. The largest attendance in fair history was set in 2024 with 1,182,682 people.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

I was one of those people.

SPEAKER_04 8:09

24. I don't think we were there in 24. Maybe 23 we were. I don't think I went there two years, I don't think. So I didn't I didn't go there 25 or 24.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

Yeah, we didn't go to 24. I wasn't one of them.

SPEAKER_04 8:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

That was, yeah. So it would take you 5,400 minutes to casually walk all 450 acres at the Iowa State Fair grounds.

SPEAKER_04 8:38

I could do the math, but I probably shouldn't. Yeah, like what's that? For how many hours? So 60 minutes, so six times nine is fifty-four. That's five. So it'd be six hundred.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

I wonder if they're counting the uh camping grounds, too.

SPEAKER_04 8:58

Oh, I I would assume so, yeah. Fifteen point two corn dogs are sold every minute during the Iowa State Fair. Obviously, while it's open.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

That's a lot of corndogs, dude. They're good though, dude. We get them alright, dude. Sidebar, sorry. It's on topic with the corn dog. Yeah. Last year, I think it was last year, we went and they had a corndog that was like, you know how it's normally breaded? Yeah. Well, they like dip dipped it in hot Cheetos, like flaming hot Cheetos. Yeah. Actually had it. It was decent.

SPEAKER_04 9:36

So was it breaded and the Cheetos were in the breading, or was it just hot Cheetos on the outside? It was like Like if they had put honey and just stuck it. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 9:45

But it didn't like, yeah, it I mean they were still crunchy, so they didn't fry it in there. Okay. But I it was I don't know how it was really stuck on there. But they I mean it stuck on there really, really well. So it just looked like a giant taki, is what it looked like. Kind of tasted like, you know. I didn't mind it. It was like you didn't use any mustard or anything. At least I didn't, I'll say it that way. But what do you eat on your corn dog? Typically just mustard. Me too, but so what do you eat on your corn dog?

SPEAKER_04 10:15

That's why that's why we're best friends.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

We both like mustard.

SPEAKER_04 10:19

Um hot dog with a bun or without a bun? With a bun. With the bun? Uh ketchup and mustard. But I I think I would like a little bit of a spicy mustard. If I have to eat it by itself with the hot dog, yeah, I'm good with that.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

What do you got for number seven? Number seven is president, who I think is presidents who have visited the fair are Herbert Hoover and Dwight Eisenhower in 1954, Gerald uh in 2007 as a candidate, and in 2012 as president Donald Trump in 2015 as a candidate, Joe Biden in 2019 as a candidate, Ronald Reagan broadcasted from the fair as a sports director for WHO radio in the 1930s.

SPEAKER_04 11:18

And then I believe Jimmy Carter in 76.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

Oh, did I not read them?

SPEAKER_04 11:23

And George Bush in 2002, and then Barack Obama.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

I was like, man, this does not, yeah. Well making sense. Yeah, I was like, I don't know where. I'd normally, all right. Yeah, we'll keep going. Well good.

SPEAKER_04 11:37

The Iowa State Fair, it is not a breeding ground, but it's it's a ground to have presidential candidates flock here.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Oh, a lot of uh local politicians too. Yes. Love to go to it. Yes. I think it's because they hang out, hand out their swag like everybody else. Uh merch.

SPEAKER_04 11:56

You're usually it's just a little fan wave with their face on it or something. I know the last primaries we had all the people here. They always they just always come beforehand and usually have a soapbox they stand on, they can talk about things, whatever they want. And uh yeah, then they have a stand where you can cast your kernel and put a kernel of corn for who you would vote for at that time.

unknown 12:21

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 12:22

Yep, yep. So politics is pretty uh pretty big deal at the Iowa State Fair. And of course, I had add a funny, right? It's a good one, though. Not all serious, it's really good. So the toilet paper that's at the Iowa State Fair, it would stretch 1,818 miles, and that is five trips to Chicago from Des Moines, or one trip to Los Angeles. It's a lot of toilet paper. Yeah, bud. But it's also single paper. They gotta get rid of it too.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

That's that's the that's immediately where my mind went. Well, mine went, dude, it's also single ply. I mean that's that's not good toilet paper.

SPEAKER_03 13:07

No, it'll dissolve quick. Yeah, it's all right. We all know. Iowa used to be a rainforest in the state fair game. And now we have no trees. I feel like we're in the book Delorax. Yeah, all the toilet paper. It's it's going to a worthy cause.

SPEAKER_04 13:24

Yes, yes, it is a worthy cause. I could sidebard that, but we should probably jump ahead. Yeah, we'll have porta potty talk another episode. Oh. So you ready for this uh this kind of out-of-the-box topic? I don't know if your mind put more minded, but it was a knock-knock joke. No, not the knockdown. No, not that one, no. No, it was gonna be prepping inside the porta potty.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Oh, yeah. Yeah. What you do and what you don't. It's definitely uh, yeah. That's a whole nother show, right now.

SPEAKER_03 13:57

That's what I'm saying, bud. That's what I'm saying. You got the jokes on the walls and a whole bunch of stuff. That's right. My political news. Sometimes get off the toilet paper, too.

SPEAKER_04 14:10

Alright, let's jump ahead to the grandstand, alright? A lot of people are super excited about the grandstand every year. This year seems pretty bad.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

I know a lot of people that are hyped up, man.

SPEAKER_04 14:23

Okay, so we are gonna show our true colors here then.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Uh yeah, yeah, I don't so I only know a couple. Well, these are.

SPEAKER_04 14:31

Okay, okay. So, first one on the 13th is Hardy. I saw a dude's picture. I don't know if it's a group or if it's single person, I don't know. No, no idea. No idea on that. So, so um 14th, Rod Stewart. I see that man, I've seen his face before. Kind of looks like a pervert to me. If the boot fits, wear it, okay?

SPEAKER_03 15:02

Yes. So would you buy or would you hold Rod Stewart, Fred? I would not hold it. I would sell personally. Good answer. Get rid of him. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 15:21

The next one on the 15th would be the Red Clay Strace.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

I've actually heard this is the one that a lot of the guys I work with are like stoked about that one.

SPEAKER_04 15:31

I'm gonna have to look them up.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

They're probably some the way the way he was described to me. Poppy folk music. Was he's um he's like Elvis when Elvis was more country, like when Elvis first started. Yeah. But he's got a uh like a deeper voice, I think. Cool. I don't know. I'm sure I've like been around somebody playing his songs, but I probably never okay.

SPEAKER_04 16:00

So selling that too. Yeah. 16th, Laney Wilson. I have heard of her. I couldn't tell you a single of hers, though.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

I can't I don't know much about her. I she's country, right? And like I don't know. I feel like country is like really hurting for like strong female artists. I mean, like you think of prime country, like you think of Reba, and it's like Carrie Underwood. Shania Twain. I mean, you think like a lot of Taylor, you know, and it's like now, and I don't maybe because I don't really listen. But I just don't know.

SPEAKER_04 16:37

Yeah. Um that and country kind of got off on a thing where it's rap.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

Yeah, country and it's weird. When Beyonce did that, she put out a country album. I think that was her most recent thing. And then post Malone, but like his stuff sounds more poppy country. Like, but I think Florida Georgia. Like Florida, Georgia line poppy. I think they kind of they kind of broke the box of what country is with their I'll say with their main radio push of country. I don't know any of their stuff outside the main radio stuff. Sure. So I mean they could be like real country and then have two hits that were not, and that's what I'm basing them on.

SPEAKER_04 17:25

I don't I don't care to listen to them, but okay, so I mean I guess by at least know what what she is. Yeah, yeah. Um so 19th is AJR, no clue. I don't even know what that is. Yeah, um I looked at this yesterday and I wrote the day before, and yeah. Alright, jumping ahead. 20th is Riley Green. I know this one. I yeah, I do know, yeah, he country, um, right? Yep, he sings a song with Ella Langley because my daughter will say, Is that Texas? I can tell. That's one of our songs, and that's what she thinks her name is. Yeah. What's in crust, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

I don't know if you've seen these videos where they take the song and instead of what they're actually saying the lyrics, it's what it sounds like.

SPEAKER_04 18:15

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

And it's like talking about doing taxes.

SPEAKER_04 18:18

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

And I'm like, that's hilarious. But you're living in my world finally. I'm just like the yes, yes. I'm just like, is this what everybody else hears? Because that's hilarious.

SPEAKER_04 18:32

Yeah, I'll never let down that song. That poor Katie Perry.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Yeah. And then lastly, so yeah, bye. Bye, Riley Green. Yeah, yeah. I I think that, yeah, from what people have said, he's a good act, is what I've heard. But I'd go, I'd go see that. That's the same guys about the red clay strays. Yeah, they get all the same, they're all excited about both those.

SPEAKER_04 18:53

So and then the 23rd is Josiah Queen. It's a picture of a dude again. So I don't know who that's. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

You don't pick your last name sometimes, if that's truly his last name.

SPEAKER_04 19:03

It's a stage name, I'm sure. Oh well. He probably picked it. Yeah. Okay, so that is grandstand for you. Next one.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Random. Have you ever been to a show at the grandstand?

SPEAKER_04 19:21

Me neither. I'm too cheaty. I can hear it from my house. But no. Um, no, I haven't been able to. Like.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

The only one I wanted to go to was probably Hootie and the Blowfish.

SPEAKER_04 19:34

Oh, okay. Just because of the childhood. They'd gotten some big acts. I feel like not last year, but the year before, they got quite a few in the lineup. Like they even had like Slipknot, who never comes back to the States. They're always in Europe.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

Because they're from Iowa.

SPEAKER_04 19:47

Yeah. But like big names like that was that year. I feel like it was the whole lineup. So um, but yeah, no. Nope, I haven't been there. I've only been to one concert in my life, and it was over in Omaha.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

So Omaha.

SPEAKER_04 20:01

Yeah. Gosh, I hate Omaha. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

Omaha! Omaha! That was the only thing my Omaha was.

SPEAKER_04 20:13

So, buddy. Places. We're gonna talk about places at the fair. Yes. Do you have any off the top of your head, or do you want me to go through my list and you tag along? What do you want to do? We'll just kind of, I guess, tag along. Okay. So, um, places that me and my family like to go when we go, we start off usually by coming in off the west end. I think it's gate 11, and we go straight down the main road, main concourse. So, off to the north would be the varied industries buildings. Right. Right? Is that the north or south? I think that's the north. Or that anyways, the varied industries building. We we like to go in there. Like, what do you do in there? Um, if it's the one I'm thinking of, is that the one that has all of like it'll have the colleges in there, it'll have different businesses in there. So that's the one on the south. It's very packed. It'll have some like spas and stuff inside for selling, but they have a lot of different businesses. Like they'll have like pro-life groups in there, they'll have Republican Party of Iowa, I think, Democratic, stuff like that. One guy with the track industry. Yep. Um, Des Moines Registers in there because my show, I don't care. Because they they fooled me one year and hoaxed me into getting a subscription with them because they're like, here, you can have this free umbrella at a cost. That they didn't tell you until you all that stuff. Anyways, so they're in that building, so that's varied industries.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

That one honestly makes me uh very I have high anxiety in that building. It's you got a family, it sucks in there. It's it's a lot of people. Nobody nobody cares. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:56

Nobody cares. Dude, okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

I've got travel your children. There's a stroller in there. Yes. Oh man.

SPEAKER_04 22:03

That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

At the start of it, I'm like, oh hey, like, excuse me, excuse me. Then at by the end of it, like the end of that building, I'm just I'm clipping your Achilles, dude. I don't care. Yeah. Like I tried to be nice. I tried to like, excuse me, but like A, nobody can hear anybody in there. Yeah. But yeah, it's it's been compared as a flea market or a swamp meet, is what it is. It's just a bunch of people with a business trying to sell something to you.

SPEAKER_04 22:31

Yeah, and I feel like it's more of the uh business side of the stuff because I feel like the next place we're gonna talk about actually has the goods inside.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

Yeah, yeah. Because you can I mean you can come out with some decent stuff.

SPEAKER_04 22:41

Some stuff in there. There's not a whole lot. I feel like it's Tupperware, colleges will give you stickers and stuff. The straws, like I said. There's a lot of places that do raffles. Yeah, I feel like I was gonna say. Yeah. But then we jump north across the street and we'll go to the shoppers mart, which that's like one third of the grandstand underneath. And I feel like that's the east end.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

Yeah, I'm trying to think. Because you have the nitro ice. Is that with the fire department thing almost?

SPEAKER_04 23:10

Oh, that's on the west end. Okay. Because it's like it's like split. So like this, like I think it's either in the middle or on the east end, or it's the middle and east end. Because they have the nitro ice cream that you go through, and then you just walk through, and it's literally vendors just selling stuff. Okay. Um, there's a guy I used to buy my sports pictures from. Um he was in there. Um, I mean, they have the hair, different weird things. They had the pots and pans. Wasn't the shamwow guy the little like oh I'm sure yeah, he was a notice of people all the time there. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:41

Yeah, yeah. Because that is more like buy my product. Yes, buy my product. Let me do this demonstration for you. Yes. And then, hey, just because the Iowa State Fair is going on and you guys are here, you wish you a great deal. Yeah. Yeah. We do not go there. Okay. Uh we yeah, there's just too many of us. Like, we'll hit the very industries every once in a while. Um, I remember as a kid. That'd be rough with your family, man. Is that the one that has two stories? The very what's that building with two stories? Nope. Um, we're gonna get it. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 24:15

Because that one we that was not bad. Yeah, we'll stop in there. Yeah. Okay, so then we go east and then north. And it's a place called Little Hands on the Farm. It's like a little um fake farm that your kids can kind of learn stuff through. We usually go through there, and at the end you get a free ice cream, I think. So that's the main selling point for that. That is 100% the selling point.

SPEAKER_01 24:39

Yeah. Um, we have children that say they want to do it, but they don't want to do it. They just want to get the ice cream at the end or whatever it is. But yeah. Um, why do you think I'm there? I want a homestead so that way I have little hands on the farm. There you go. Just at my house.

SPEAKER_04 25:00

Remember just north of that when they used to have, I don't know if they still have it or not, but like the shark tanks?

SPEAKER_01 25:05

Not anymore. It's now it's like that's where the lion or leopards, or they'll have some type of wild cat out there doing demand like tricks and stuff. Yeah. So but the bad thing about that is there's like no shade in what little bit of shade there is. Like, there are people who like take their kids' little hands, they hit the petting zoo, and then they'll go sit in that shady spot. So, like, you're just melting.

SPEAKER_04 25:36

Alright, and then we go back down south, and I believe it's kind of by the corner, is called the cultural center. Which is that that is like a globe in the front. So when I was looking at the map, actually, no, I take this back. This is not the same place. I cannot find that place on the map. I know what you're talking about because it's like food vendors, and like there's like honey. The cultural issue. Well, you're talking about the two-story building where the cultural center is the arts building. Yes, and that was on the map, but I couldn't find the one that's on the corner that I know what you're talking about. Yeah, I don't know. But it's vendors in there too. The world is that the world uh I I I don't know, I can't remember. But yes, I knew exactly what you're talking about. We would go in there and there's a lot of vendors in there.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

Because they do a lot of contests leading up to the fair and then they'll judge it, and you can see like their prizes, but it's like a little kid grew a plant of this, or I don't I mean, just random stuff, like stuff that I didn't even know was actually like a contest for the fair.

SPEAKER_04 26:38

Which they have a lot of stuff, yeah. Um, so then we jump. Oh yeah. No, I go so then we go east from that building to the cultural center, which is the art building, is what I call it. Um, it's like three stories, I feel like. Um, on the bottom, there's like the boring doll houses, and then but they have really cool like paintings and stuff. Yeah, some people do some like wax stuff in there, or um, some people selling stuff that they make. I think everybody sells their stuff in there. I want to say a lot of buttons, yeah. You can get prints and stuff of people's like paintings and drawings and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 27:16

Yeah, you don't go to that building, so you have little hands on the farm, and then you come back down the hill. Okay, and it's that first building. And I should know what it's called because we have our union Christmas party there every year, but nope. I don't think it's the Jacobson, because Jacobson's where all the horse tracks and stuff are, but but this is where like the baby animals are like the the chicks, uh the baby turkeys. You can see I call them the bacon bits, so it's the little pigs.

SPEAKER_04 27:47

I I did not know that there was a baby. You get to see that the I didn't know there was a special baby place, no, yeah. Um and it's like okay, so you have the main concourse, right? And then you go north, and then that's where the little farm is. So you're saying like maybe on the corner by there?

SPEAKER_01 28:00

Uh by the bud tent? It's kind of uh yeah, uh, because what's that? What's that? Oh, the mill, yeah. It's right from the mill. Um north of it? Yeah, so like the mill, little hands right there.

SPEAKER_03 28:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:18

I think it's the Jacobson.

SPEAKER_04 28:21

I know we usually go like the last Saturday too, which kind of stinks because I feel like a lot of the animals go.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

It's not the Jacobson is actually where the horses, a lot of the shows for the horses go. But I cannot remember.

SPEAKER_04 28:36

Which would be south of the cultural building.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

Right. I cannot remember the name of that building. But like we'll go in there. Um, we always look at the little ducks, the baby ducks, they're ducklings. They're so funny because like there's that one duck that just a lot of them will chill underneath the heat lamp, and another one will just like you know, the crazy one will jump in the water a little bit, and the chicks are kind of like that too, but yeah, and then they'll go look at the pigs, and they'll have videos of like the animals being born and stuff, and then there's like little baby sheep and cows, you're not supposed to touch them because you know, that's not sanitary.

SPEAKER_04 29:14

But and it's probably a very special time.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Yeah, if you mama, babies and stuff, if you if your wife is expecting that is not a good place to go because the smell will hit you in the face right away, and then they'll have like birthing videos of like the livestock. So it's it's it can get to where you're just kind of like, ooh, like I'm just gonna like keep my eyes down here, and you got little cutouts to where your kids can be farmers and setting a tractor and stuff, but and they have a bathroom and water uh water fountain. So if you need a top off, it's a good place.

SPEAKER_04 29:54

Um, and then lastly where we go is the animal barns, yeah. So south of the two-story building that we were talking about that we don't know the name of, just south down there, and then there's just all sorts of animals, like you were saying, all the baby animals, but they have the big animals instead, and then there's always one kid that has a fake spider that he drops down and pulls up in front of people every single year. Got me once, but now you know not again, never again.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Come on to you, kid. But yeah, we go see the animals. We'll always uh we we plan a day to go, and based on whatever day that is, we'll search like kind of what's there, like what events, and we'll watch horse shows. We watched uh the shooting where you're riding a horse and you gotta shoot these balloons. Um it's it's kind of crazy because you got little kids doing it, and there's there they don't shoot, but they'll like point a laser or something, is what it really is um at the targets, but then like I can't remember I think they shoot like walnut shells, but like you can get further into the competition and they'll actually go out and shoot real um pistols at targets and stuff. But there's been rodeos in there, um barrel racing, they do like I don't know, like horse and buggy poles. I don't really know what they judge on that, but and then we'll watch there's like more of the they make the horses lift their legs really high and walk and then they'll pants and stuff like it's it's kind of cool uh just to watch the different types of horses and but I'm trying to think if they have any other shows that we watch. It's kind of by the snake exhibit. I don't know if you know what that's at, but yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 31:51

Because good segue, that is one of the places I'd like to take my kids is the snakes alive. I I think I've been in there once when I was a little kid.

SPEAKER_01 32:01

I was in there once and then they started making you pay.

SPEAKER_04 32:04

Correct. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:05

Which it's air conditioning, so it's alright, but for a family, yeah. Yeah, it's a little rough when half of them can't see, can't see the tanks that they're in. Right. You're like, yeah. So I think they let you hold one, I believe. Yeah, at the end, you can get your picture taken. If you pay, probably. I feel like my kids would talk a big game, and then as soon as that thing, like most people, you'll see them. Like you can sit there and watch them get their picture taken. Like, they're like it's a python, isn't it? Yellow and white one. Yeah, or you can pick uh I think they're boas, but it's the like green and black and green brown or something, yeah, like camouflage, but as soon as they put it all around their neck, you're like, ooh, and then they'll just like freak out and leave.

SPEAKER_04 32:54

But shed their skin and go. Yeah. Um, right next to Snakes Alive is the giant slide. I have not taken my children on it yet, but I feel like at least once in their life I should.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

Yeah, we haven't. When we were there last year, it was actually like shut down. I can't remember what happened. But a kid died. I no, I think someone got hurt though. Probably. Like someone someone got some air and got hurt.

SPEAKER_04 33:19

Jokingly, jokingly. Yeah, yeah. But but uh the last place is the sky glider. I haven't taken my children on there yet. They're obviously still pretty little, yeah. But at least once, you know.

SPEAKER_01 33:32

I will say, I'll put in a plug for this. I I haven't done the sky glider with my kids, but we went skiing and we were on the lift. It's some good one-on-one time. I mean, obviously the sky glider is a little bit longer than a ski chair lift, but um, yeah, it's if you can because I noticed, and like I never had this fear. Like, my wife has because I was like, oh, do you want to get this worked out to where we do the sky glider? Because we went to the local um amusement park and uh did that little sky glider for the and I think we only had two, maybe I don't know how many we had, but basically my wife will rode with one and I rode with the other. I think we only had two. We might have had a babysitter, but um, like I didn't think anything of it. Then she told me the sky glider, she's like, I just get so nervous because we don't even think they have the arm thing, like it's just open and you just sit there and relax.

SPEAKER_04 34:43

Well, at the at the amusement park, I can't remember. They have a bar, the bar just flips over.

SPEAKER_01 34:48

It's just so I don't know if the sky glider have I can't remember, but what after she told me that when we went skiing, I was like, don't move, just hold still, because the the ski ones, jars, they don't have it because you gotta get out. But I was like, stop moving, like sit up, like one of my kids is just kind of like this, and I'm like, dude, your ski is way more than you. Like, get like sit up, you know. But uh, it just it kind of makes you nervous, the little things that you don't really think about that much. But yeah, we we also go and we'll check out the the guy with the chainsaw or something. Well they'll get bored with that, and then we go to the one one room schoolhouse. We'll go check that out, and then the old I think it's the old church, maybe the first church. I can't remember what it's called.

SPEAKER_04 35:42

That's right by the chainsaw, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:44

Yeah, which is which is ironic because they'll have like him singing services right while he's doing this. Do you check out the ice uh sculpture thing?

SPEAKER_04 35:57

Nope.

SPEAKER_01 35:58

Or the butter cake?

SPEAKER_04 35:59

The cow? Oh, yeah, we might see it. It's not like we have to see it now.

SPEAKER_02 36:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:05

Yeah. Hey. Nice, another segue.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

Nice.

SPEAKER_04 36:09

So when you go, is there any like top three places you have to stop for food? I know you have a big family.

SPEAKER_01 36:16

We always get a funnel cake. Okay. Um, always. Um and then typically a corn dog. What we try to do is we'll we'll do like a morning and then we'll go home. Um, and then we'll try to come back that night. It kind of depends on how everybody's doing. Um I we'll do at least a corndog in the morning-ish. Um, and then maybe funnel cake, and then we'll head out. We come back that night. Um I gotta get my son to get a turkey leg because they're huge and he loves like drumsticks and turkey legs and all that stuff. So like if we get a rotisserie check in, he's like, I call the legs, you know, and it's just like whatever. But he'll like he'll clean them, dude. So I'm pretty sure he can handle that. Um there was something. Oh, we used to get they did uh what is it? Deep fat fried, like Snicker bars and all the floor.

SPEAKER_04 37:18

Oreos, butter, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 37:20

Um fun fact, Grok was gonna say you're gonna make a joke about the butter. Uh deep fat fried. I can't believe it's not butter. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

No, I uh I don't know if there's necessarily something I have to get. We just normally get a corndog and uh funnel cake. I personally like the funnel cake. It's kind of my big thing, I think. What about you guys?

SPEAKER_04 37:50

We just got a corndog. Um now that you said funnel cake, I feel like my wife tries to. Because I feel like any place that sells them, whether we're at the local amusement park, she always tries to get one there. So I feel like there she here at the fair she would. Um, lemonade for her always. I look for the little sign that has the mouse because that's Brad and Harry's cheese curds. Get those every year, those are good. Um, and then I have an unhonorable mention. Um, so it's the exclusive water that they sell there. You can't get any other water. It's this one bottle that is green and it just tastes off.

SPEAKER_01 38:29

Yep. And it's so expensive.

SPEAKER_04 38:32

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:32

Like ridiculous.

SPEAKER_04 38:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:34

Like I want a bottle of water that doesn't taste like it's off.

SPEAKER_04 38:39

It's almost like if you're up in like Ames or something, like it's just off. I think it's awful. Good, good plug. But so that wraps up places that we like to go to. Now, would you like to talk food at the fair? I know we did a little bit, but kind of like the new stuff. Yeah, the new stuff. Every year we got something new. And they go through a whole list of I I maybe I'm exaggerating, maybe I'm not, but like 30 or 40, and then they break it down to like the best, and then they have runner-ups. Yeah, yep. So I looked at their list from it's gonna start from the winner and then it's gonna go down.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 39:20

So um, let's go through this and uh buy seller whole fashion, shall we?

SPEAKER_01 39:26

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_04 39:26

Okay. So when and Sarah's handmade bacon, chicken, ranch, egg roll.

SPEAKER_02 39:38

I'm not an egg roll guy.

SPEAKER_04 39:40

Um egg rolls like normally I don't eat um bacon chicken ranch. Let me let me read into a little bit. So each egg roll is wrapped by hand, filled with chicken, bacon, and cheddar cheese. So it is then um the egg roll part of it is perfectly golden, crunchy, and drizzled with Win and Sarah's ranch dressing. I probably would do that. I like I think that would work for me.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

I think they're like that big. I don't remember. I think you get two, but yeah, um for 15 bucks. Yeah, it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_04 40:19

That's the part that's hard about the sold on.

SPEAKER_01 40:22

But if you were to give me a blank amount, I might try it.

SPEAKER_04 40:26

Right. Yeah, for 15 bucks I'm not going to, but yeah, I would. Um the next one that I have is the Scotcheroo shake.

SPEAKER_01 40:35

No. You know who would like this? Our friend of the show, Jack, would love this. You think so? I think so.

SPEAKER_04 40:42

Oh, peanut butter. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:44

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:47

I'm I'm uh I'm a slappy when it comes to like ice cream stuff, so I would. I if it didn't cost me money, I'd buy it.

SPEAKER_01 40:54

I mean, even if this was like a dollar, I don't I'd probably try it just to say I did, but it does not I am not a peanut butter shake guy. I I'll eat ice cream with peanut butter, but like, ugh, I can't do it. Like, I maybe it's too much protein shakes. I don't know. Like, I just I just uh somebody better.

SPEAKER_04 41:18

The next one we have is Three Little Pigs, and I'll read a little bit on this one. So, oak kissed smoked handball served as a trio flight of nostalgic flavors. First is a savory and sweet honey and mustard glazed handball topped with cornbread crumbles. The next one is a tangy cherry soda glaze with maraschino cherries to give it old timey feel. And the third has a buttery vanilla glaze dusted with powdered sugar, bringing a sweet contrast that plays on classic fair treat for 13 bucks. I'd much rather just eat a slice of ham, so I'm gonna sell.

SPEAKER_01 42:04

Yeah, I would definitely sell that.

SPEAKER_04 42:06

I I feel like they are playing very well to the ham's flavor though. Yeah, yeah, it probably works very well. Yeah, I don't but I'm picky anyway, so alright, let's jump to the next one. So we have the chicken pickle ranch rocket on a stick. I'm gonna sell. Sell, sell, sell.

SPEAKER_01 42:25

I did not know. Nope.

SPEAKER_04 42:27

Sell that too much. I don't need pickles. Okay. That's also$9. So it's probably a better buy than the three little pigs.

SPEAKER_01 42:36

Well, it doesn't sound good at all.

SPEAKER_04 42:38

It's probably the same size.

SPEAKER_01 42:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 42:41

The potato half and half Korean corn dog. I'm just selling. The word Korean in it makes me nervous. Not because of the people, but like Korean food. That makes me nervous.

SPEAKER_01 42:53

They got a barbecue, Korean barbecue, but.

SPEAKER_04 42:55

Don't you have to cook your own?

SPEAKER_01 42:57

Uh no, but we're actually gonna check out a place that you cook your own? Uh it's like a new place that opened up around and uh it's a buffet.

SPEAKER_04 43:08

It's oh you have to tell me.

SPEAKER_01 43:10

Uh yeah, I'll let you know.

SPEAKER_04 43:12

Um, but I don't want to cook my food.

SPEAKER_01 43:15

I I'm just I don't know. I'm not it doesn't sound good. If I'm gonna get a corn dog, I'm gonna get a corn dog. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04 43:22

Okay, but for our beer's, I guess. So okay. So crinkle fried potatoes that are fried into the outside of the dough. The inside of this K dog is half mozzarella cheese and half all beef hot dog. The K dog is then coated with homemade batter, covered with cut French fries and panko, and fried until golden. This K Dog is also best eaten with one of our four sauces ketchup, mustard, sweet chili, or spicy mayo. Um, dude, that's and it's 18 bucks.

SPEAKER_01 43:55

Yeah, 18 bucks. Dude, the corn dogs are like that long. And they're like.

SPEAKER_04 44:02

Okay, so that's like a ripoff, dude? Like that's 18 bucks for a corn dog?

SPEAKER_01 44:07

I'll go, yeah. Yeah, I'll I'll bring my own sweet chili. Good grief. Yeah, that's I no, it didn't eat. On principle, I won't even eat it. It doesn't even sound that good.

SPEAKER_04 44:20

No. I mean, you're you're just adding too much to it. So let's jump ahead to the butter cow tornado. And this is a twist of gooey buttercake drenched in butterscotch, crowned with a white chocolate butter cow candy. Every bite is a mini homage to the Iowa State Fair's beloved butter sculpture. Um, so I believe this is a shake.

SPEAKER_02 44:42

I am not I'm not a butterscotch guy.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

I think the tornado is like, I think it's a blizzard.

SPEAKER_04 44:50

Like a blizzard. Yes, it's a good thing you said that because I believe it's from that place. Same with the next one. Yeah, yep.

SPEAKER_01 44:57

Yep. So, yeah, because like even the Scotcharoo shake, like it's a butterscotch peanut butter, which sounds horrible to me. And then butterscotch, I'm not I would try both. I'm not a butterscotch. I just throw away the I don't need the cow. No. And I don't really care for like white, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:15

No. It was just it was just that piece on the top it says. So that's what I'm saying. I could throw that out and I could be good. I know you don't want it, but I could. Yeah, no. So yeah, you're right. It's it's it's like a blizzard. Yeah. So the next one is from also another small local ice cream shop. It's called the Apple Delight Sunday. So Granny Smith flavored ice cream and a waffle cone bowl topped with apple filling, caramel, whipped cream, apple cookie included. That's a yes. I'm gonna pass.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

Man, I like apple caramel and and all the above. That's me.

SPEAKER_04 45:52

Yeah, it is you. Because in my world, dessert is unhealthy, so why would I add healthy stuff to it?

SPEAKER_01 45:59

Yeah, I yeah, that's just my world.

SPEAKER_04 46:02

It's I also think candy is dessert.

SPEAKER_01 46:05

There's no health value whatsoever in that apple, dude.

SPEAKER_04 46:10

You get you get apple chunks, a couple apple chunks.

SPEAKER_01 46:12

Probably not even a full apple, but no, definitely not a full apple. You got the waffle cone? Are you a waffle cone or a sugar cone kind of guy? Sugar cone. The sugar cones like the McDonald's.

SPEAKER_04 46:24

Oh, those for sure. Dude, I could eat those by themselves.

SPEAKER_01 46:27

The waffle cones are like they're rolled and longer.

SPEAKER_04 46:32

Oh man. I can, but no, I'd much rather eat the other ones. I used to eat them, dude. They're good stuff. Also reminds me, confession time. Oh. Sometimes I would sneak into the church sanctuary and eat some of the wafers, too. Yeah. I just love that taste for some reason. It's the same taste, right? Pretty much. It's the yeah, I don't know what that is. But jumping ahead to the Hawaiian dog. Kind of reminds me of Lion King with uh Puma and Timba. They're singing and dancing in the skirts. So the Hawaiian dog is a hog, sorry, is a delicious sandwich layered with shea pork loin, creamy coleslaw. I'm out already. Brown sugar, pineapple ring, and served on a bun with a side of sweet chili sauce. This fits in with Iowa Pork Producer's current menu as pork is the star of the show. I would buy it. Not this show. Not this show.

SPEAKER_01 47:33

The Iowa State Fair show. But I would buy this. That that's I mean it's$10.

SPEAKER_04 47:39

That's probably a good buy. Yeah, it's not terrible. But not for me. Yeah. Okay, so next one we have is HOQ Lamb Wrap. Tender. So Iowa lamb tossed an HOQ tomato cream sauce pass.

SPEAKER_05 47:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:54

Made from Iowa tomatoes, and we can jump ahead because it's 18 bucks too. Yeah. You lost me. Alright.

SPEAKER_02 48:01

See, and I like lamb. Like I don't mind it. Um, but nah, that tomato sauce.

SPEAKER_04 48:07

I just want to cook more than what I normally get it. There was a really nice steakhouse that was here locally. Brazilian steakhouse. And they had lamb, and I wish I'd cook a little bit longer. That place was so good, man. Alright. Next one. Hot chicken, mac and cheese pizza. So white meat chicken with a sweet and spicy Nashville hot rub is smoked for four hours and shredded into a mac and cheese sauce base and top with mozzarella cheese. Um they add bacon to it. Sorry, no, I'm I lied. It's cooked in a hickory and applewood fired pizza oven. It's cut into four slices and top with a secret hot sauce and locally sourced hot honey drizzle.

SPEAKER_01 48:54

I want to like it, but I don't like mac and cheese pizza.

SPEAKER_04 48:57

I think, yeah, I think if they would separate it, I would maybe like I if it was given to me to try, I would at least try it. Yeah. Um, but it wouldn't be something I'd go try to find.

SPEAKER_01 49:07

But it's eight dollars a slice, I think.

SPEAKER_04 49:09

Um that is. I don't like it. The pizza's then cut into four slices and finally top. Yeah, it's probably eight dollars a slice. Yeah. So give just give me old-fashioned pepperoni, I'll be happy.

SPEAKER_01 49:20

I think the flavors sound pretty good. I mean, I just I'm not a big mac and cheese guy.

SPEAKER_04 49:24

I'm really, or just take out the pizza dough and just have that type of chicken and then your mac and cheese on the side, that'd that'd be a good meal. I'd be down. And then lastly, the one that I have on here is the maple bacon bourbon grilled cheese.

SPEAKER_01 49:39

Say that three times faster.

SPEAKER_04 49:40

Maple, bacon, bourbon, grilled cheese. It starts with freshly made maple bread, then top with a maple bourbon cream cheese, add a gourmet, maple, bourbon, bourbon, cheddar cheese, and wheat. Uh, bourbon, maple, candied bacon is added between all the goodness, and then it's grilled to golden brown and served with maple, bourbon, raspberry dipping sauce. I'd probably try that.

SPEAKER_01 50:03

For$12 at the Iowa State Fair, it's not really bad, but like$12 for a grilled cheese sandwich is with just bacon.

SPEAKER_04 50:10

It better be thin bacon. Yeah. If it's chunky bacon, nah. I don't want me some chewy bacon.

SPEAKER_00 50:16

Make it chewy.

SPEAKER_04 50:18

No, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 50:19

I want to chew it. I'm baking for four days.

SPEAKER_04 50:23

I want it still crawling. Yeah. And that is all Iowa State Fair.

SPEAKER_00 50:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:32

Do you have anything else you want to share about the fair? Uh it's a main tourist attraction, one of them. Um, so even if you're not in Iowa listening to our show, good opportunity to come up, check it out, see what Iowa's about for 10 days. Maybe, maybe one of those grandstand shows really spoke to you. You know, come check them out.

SPEAKER_04 50:52

Check all the details at IowaStatefair.org. Well, let's get out of here.

SPEAKER_05 50:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:58

Thank you for listening to This Is The Day Show and this wonderful Evergreen. Don't forget to stand. Thank you.