First Day of the State Fair

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The flu isn't the only challenge facing the 124th Annual Fair.  

The event was organized with $400,000 of funding from the state; only half of what they would normally get.

It was a gloomy start to the first day of the Annual South Dakota State Fair in Huron, but bad weather isn't the first obstacle they've faced in preparing for this year's fair.

The trouble for them started last year when Governor Rounds decided to cut some of their funding.  They expected to receive about $800,000 from the state like they did in the past few years, but this year, they only got $400,000 to work with.

So the Fair Commission and the State Fair Manager sat down to do some number-crunching, trying to find ways to decrease their spending, without compromising the quality of the fair.

Bill Even, the Secretary of Agriculture, says, "What we did was behind the scenes so the people going to the fair shouldn't experience any changes."

Some of those changes included bringing in volunteers to spruce up the fairgrounds; something they would normally pay for.

Even says the future of the State Fair and the funding they get depends on the nation's economy and the agricultural economy as well. 

But he says there is a positive side to a weakened economy: staycations.  Of the close to 1,600 camp sites on the grounds, Even says all of them were booked months ahead of time.

Even says, "And that tells you something.  That people in the region are coming to the fair because they know there's a value here."

That value is something they say makes the State Fair valuable to have around.

The State Fair runs through Labor Day.