Even after facing devastating flooding this summer, officials with the Clay County Fair in Spencer say this year’s event was a success.
Preliminary numbers released Tuesday show fairgoers spent more than ever before on rides, food, and drinks. The total was more than $3.3 million dollars, breaking the record set last year.
Almost 300,000 people attended the nine-day event in mid-September. It is considered one of the country’s largest county fairs. There were more than 450 exhibitors this year.
The fairgrounds have served an important role in helping Spencer after historic flooding hit in June. It’s where FEMA set up a recovery center and where people are still living in emergency housing.
*The Federal Emergency Management Agency has begun some specialty sessions designed to help people impacted by the late June extensive flooding in Siouxland.
There will be free mitigation, repair and rebuilding sessions in two counties from Wednesday through Friday. Those will be at home repairs stores in the Hardware Hank store in downtown Sheldon, Iowa, and also at Olson’s Ace Hardware in downtown Beresford, South Dakota, for Union County residents.
FEMA has held such sessions in other Siouxland counties, where mitigation specialists will also share techniques for preventing damage from future disasters.
*Additionally, a top official with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the agency is still reviewing a petition by an environmental group asking for federal authorities to take over enforcement of clean water laws from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
In July, the Sierra Club of Iowa petitioned the EPA, asserting the state agency is failing to stop harmful levels of nutrients from reaching waterways.
Bruno Pigott, who leads the EPA Office of Water, said if the agency agrees enforcement in Iowa is falling short, state authorities would have a chance to change course before federal regulators step in.
Pigott also highlighted projects the EPA is helping to fund in Iowa to improve water quality, including a $348 million dollar upgrade to the Cedar Rapids wastewater system.
*In other news, Ike Rayford has announced he will not serve a new term as president of the NAACP in Sioux City.
Rayford has been president for four years, and said he wanted people to know that he isn't seeking to continue. In a statement to Siouxland Public Media News on Tuesday, Rayford said he enjoyed his leadership stint, but it is time for a new president.
“I believe great leadership is getting out of the way and allowing the next generation to come in and keep the organization moving,” he said.
The vision of the Sioux City National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights, and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.
Rayford said he is challenging the next president and others to “build better relationships and speak truth to power.”
“I am very proud of what we have accomplished over my term in building outstanding relationships with law enforcement and city leadership,” he added.
Nominations for people to serve will be taken into November, when votes will be taken, with new NAACP officers to start terms on January 1.
