Gogebic County Fair Board trying for rodeo replacement

By P.J. GLISSON

news@yourdailyglobe.com

Ironwood — Members of the Gogebic County Fair Board voted on Monday evening to move the fair’s mud races from Sunday afternoon to Saturday evening in hopes of reestablishing a rodeo on Sunday afternoon.

This year’s fair will run from Aug. 10-13.

Monday’s action reversed a decision in a previous meeting to move the races from Saturday to Sunday when a formerly lined up rodeo company backed out for insurance reasons.

Monday’s vote split nearly evenly. Linda Nelson, Crystal Suzik, Melinda Kostac, Shelley Suckow and Holly Ramme voted yes while Chairman James Byrns, Tom Hampston and Randy Kashich voted no.

Nelson reported that the Rice Bull Riding Company of Medford, Wisconsin, may be available to provide a Sunday show at the fair. The cost would be $22,500.

The company has been operating in the Midwest since 1997, mostly as a bulls-and-barrels operation but now also as a full rodeo.

Nelson said its entertainment would include bull riding, bareback and saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, barrel racing and various roping events. Mutton busting would be an option if local sheep could be provided, she said.

In order to minimize the possibility of misunderstandings, Nelson said that she has shared with the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners all communications with the pending new rodeo company.

“The only issue seems to be that we need to get that spectator’s insurance,” she said of the rodeo, which is sanctioned by the Central Bull Riders Association. 

Nelson also believes that she can secure sponsors to help with the costs of hiring the rodeo company.

Hampston resisted Nelson’s pitch, claiming it is too late to set up a new plan for this year. He suggested next year instead. Kashich agreed. Byrns also warned that the rodeo will require a bulldozer to create a flat space with no rocks.

After Monday night’s vote cleared, Hampston declared, “I wash my hands of the mud racing.” He already had invested time in lining up Sunday needs for the Lake States Mud Racers of Hurley.

In other entertainment news, Nelson said that the band Outlaw’d of Houghton, Michigan, had been secured for Friday evening at a cost of $5,000.

Although the board had hoped to hire Letters From Home for entertainment late on Thursday afternoon, Nelson said the operation made too many demands, resulting in it being too expensive.

Kashich said he will check to see whether the Shotgun Ragtime Band of Minneapolis, which has asked for $5,000 plus hotel rooms, can perform on Thursday evening. He said he already has one sponsor willing to pay half the cost.

The board also voted for Byrns to send a letter of request to the Quilts of Valor Foundation, which is based in Winterset, Iowa, but also operates from other locations.

“They are quilts done in red, white and blue for veterans,” said Kostac, who added that the system also sometimes does presentations, as with offering a quilt to a person undergoing or returning from service.

In other entertainment-related action, the board also:

—Voted to hire Fun E Business of Montreal, Wisconsin, to provide clown and face-painting services for two days at the fair at a cost of $800.

—Voted to provide $150 for prizes relating to the fair’s Chicken Bingo events.

Board members also reversed a previous decision to request fair vendors to pay 10% of their proceeds to the fair on top of a regular vendor fee. Instead, on Monday, they voted to charge a flat $50 from each food and beverage vendor with no share of proceeds.

In other business, the board also voted to pass Fair Board bylaws. Fair Coordinator Marlene Saari said the only difference from previous bylaws is that the county Board of Commissioners, rather than Fair Board members, will appoint members of the Fair Board. Hampston voted no on this issue.

Saari also reported that she has submitted two applications for a grant of up to $100,000 from the Michigan Department of Agricultural and Rural Development. One application is for perimeter fencing, and the other is for paved walkways.

She added that an application for a Spark grant of up to $1 million from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources remains in the process of preparation by a grant committee.

Under questioning from Hampston, Saari also reported that the county board had received the Fair Board’s letter requesting fairground horse barn repair but had only filed it.

The board tabled decisions on fair apparel, signage and gate use.

During a public comment period, Vicki Nelson of Ironwood Township expressed disappointment in the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners due to what she described as recent “micromanaging” of the Fair Board.

Ashley Dennis, the county’s 4-H coordinator, also explained issues relating to butchering of animals purchased in the annual Livestock Auction.

All members were present at Monday evening’s meeting.

The board’s next regular meeting will be on May 1 at 6 p.m. in the Fair Board office of the fairgrounds community building. The public is welcome.