Iowa State Fair Staple Event Breaks Another Record

Another record has been broken at the Iowa State Fair.

Each year, The Iowa Beef Industry Council, Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, and Office of the Governor of Iowa team up to help the community by hosting its annual Iowa Governor’s Charity Steer Show.

This special steer show is held each year during the Iowa State Fair. Local youth team up with local celebrities as they show steers. Going into this year’s show, the goal was to break last year’s record of $375,000.

This year, for the 40^th anniversary of the event, the goal was to raise $400,000. The event exceeded expectations by crushing its last year’s record by over $60,000.

This year’s event raised $440,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Iowa.

25 steers entered the show. The results of the show were:

• Grand Champion- Blue which is owned by Brady Werner, of Williamsburg and sponsored by the Iowa County Beef Supporters. John Lawrence, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Vice President, led the steer.
• Grand Champion Showman - Gary Slater, Iowa State Fair Chief Executive Officer, who showed alongside Paige Evans, of Ellsworth. Their sponsor was Volunteer Boards of Iowa Ronald McDonald Houses Charities.
• The Community Hero- Tucker Kilma, of Walker, IA worked with the Eastern Iowa Ronald McDonald House to collect pop tabs and non-perishable items. Kilma also promoted the event on social media gaining 172,000 likes and shares (Community Hero is awarded for non-monetary donations)
• People’s Choice- Clarissa Chun, University of Iowa Women’s Head Wrestling Coach, and Tate Nelson, of Nichols, IA received the loudest cheering at this year's event.

Since 1983, the show has raised over $5 million.