Fair Board aims to hire rodeo again for next year's fair

By MEGAN HUGHES

[email protected]

Ironwood — The Gogebic County Fair Board met on Monday to discuss the upcoming year’s budget, along with plans for next year’s fair entertainment.

The board approved asking Rice Bull Riding, the company that operated the 2023 rodeo at the fairgrounds, to get on its schedule for next year’s season.

Board member Linda Nelson reached out prior to the meeting, asking for a ballpark estimate for the costs of the rodeo’s return to Ironwood, and was told $25,000, which she said was $11,000 less than the rodeo’s previous visit.

Board members will reach out again to the rodeo company to determine exact costs and to get a related contract written up to be reviewed at their next meeting.

Board members also went through the 2024-2025 budget and raised some concerns with the one they had been provided by the Gogebic County Board. After a lengthy discussion, the board voted to adopt the budget as it was presented, with the caveat that any items of concern may result in budget changes that could require separate votes of adoption later.

In other news, the board:

—Approved the Sept. 3 meeting minutes as presented.

—Approved the current cash balance of $48,129.78 as presented.

—Approved claims and pre-paids as presented.

—Briefly discussed the Wisconsin Fair Association convention sign-ups. Board members have not received any notice about sign-ups for attendees and so voted to wait until they were provided with information that would allow them to determine if it is worth sending members to attend this year.

The next meeting of the Gogebic County Fair Board is set for Nov. 4. Monday’s meeting served as the board’s monthly meeting for October. Normally, the board meets on the first Monday of the month.