PLYMOUTH COUNTY FAIR – DAY 3
It’s Day 4 of the Five Best Days of Summer!
Plymouth County Fair Board President John Ahlers says he has been impressed with turnout so far.
New additions to the fair like the Kids Zone, is working out well
As temperatures warm this weekend, shade is important for fairgoers.
The Plymouth County Fair features swine judging at the Livestock Arena. Century Hall is the location of three events today, a pedal tractor pull in the morning, the Life Skills Quilt Auction at 2, and a Kids’ Bike Giveaway at 4 pm. Tonight there’s First Responders and Military Recognition at the Grandstand, followed by a truck and tractor pull.
Sunday is a full day of activity at the Plymouth County Fair. There’s a horse show and cow/calf and feeder calf show in the morning. The Highway 3 Cattle Battle and Pet shows take place in the afternoon. The Hall of Fame Award Fair Auction takes place at 4:30 p.m. The Grandstand event Sunday is figure eight racing.
For a full schedule of events at the Plymouth County Fair Saturday and Sunday, check the fair web site: Plymouthcountyfair.org. And check out the KLEM Facebook page for lots of pictures from the fair!
ARNOLDS PARK FUNDRAISER SUNDAY TO BENEFIT SPENCER FLOOD VICTIMS
Managers of an Iowa Great Lakes amusement park have set a 50-thousand dollar goal for a benefit concert to help Spencer residents impacted by flooding. Jon Pausley is executive director of Arnolds Park, which is on the shore of West Lake Okoboji.
The concert will be held Sunday afternoon, the 28th of July. Pausley says several local musicians have volunteered to perform, including two musicians from Spencer.
Spencer residents may register this week at the Spencer Chamber of Commerce for free Arnolds Park admission on Sunday and the free lunch. Funds raised at Sunday’s event will be donated to the Spencer Chamber Foundation.
IT’S TIME FOR IOWA SWEET CORN, IDEALLY FROM THAT KID ON THE CORNER
Teenagers with hand-lettered signs and pickup trucks packed with stacks of sweet corn are being seen on street corners in many Iowa cities as we’re smack dab in the middle of prime time for that delicious veggie. Aaron Steil (STYLE), a consumer horticulture specialist at Iowa State University, says if you haven’t spotted a local grower yet and decide to head to the supermarket for sweet corn instead, you -may- be still getting local ears.
Sweet corn is best when you get it right from the field, so if it’s been on a semi and sitting on a store shelf for a while, it may get squishy and starchy. Steil says the best bet is buying from that kid in the pickup, but if you head for the store instead, it may not be quite as fresh.
Some Iowans will want to freeze a batch of that sweet corn to pull out in the wintertime for a pleasing taste of summer.
If you just plan to eat the sweet corn, be sure to keep the ears in the fridge. If it gets warm, the sugars will degrade faster and the taste won’t be as fresh.
CASEY’S BUYS 198 MORE STORES
The Ankeny-based Casey’s convenience store chain announced the acquisition Friday of 198 stores in the southern U-S that includes 148 in Texas and 50 in Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi. Casey’s is purchasing the CEFCO convenience stores for more than one-point-one BILLION dollars. Casey’s C-E-O Darin Rebelez says the acquisition will quickly expand Casey’s presence in Texas and put them further into the South as well. Casey’s had already owned 22 stores in Texas and will have 29-hundred stores overall once the acquisition is complete. The Texas stores are mostly in smaller towns in the Dallas to San Antonio to Houston triangle. The Florida stores are mainly in the panhandle area. CEFCO is known for its chicken, and Rebelez says they plan to remodel the kitchens to bring in Casey’s pizza and will eventually rebrand all the stores with the Casey’s name.
CONG. HINSON OFFERS LEGISLATION TARGETING CHINA’S TRADE VIOLATIONS
Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is introducing a bill she says aims to change trade laws so China can no longer “take advantage of U-S workers and rip off U-S businesses.” Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says federal agents recently raided an Ohio warehouse that’s a subsidiary of a Chinese auto parts maker, which had been shipping in parts via Thailand to avoid import taxes. Hinson says the practice causes “severe economic harm to American competitors.” The U-S Department of Justice currently has a trade fraud task force, but Hinson says it’s only seen limited success. Her bill would allot 20-million dollars to establish a new task force. Hinson says the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for siphoning billions of dollars from the U-S economy.
