Floyd County Fair still a go after tornado rips through grounds

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Resourcefulness and resolve will lead to a rebuild.

In the meantime, the show will go on — Amy Staudt is certain of that much.

Staudt, the Floyd County Fair Board president, wanted to assure everyone that the 2019 Floyd County Fair scheduled for the middle of July is still on, despite the damage caused when an EF-1 tornado struck the fairgrounds Monday afternoon.

There will be some adjustments that participants and fair-goers will have to make after four buildings were obliterated and numerous others damaged.

“Our game plan this year is to focus on fair time only right now,” said Staudt. “The focus is on how do we make the fair great this year and then, August, September, how do we rebuild to keep the fair great for the future.”

Staudt was inside the two-year old Youth Enrichment Center at the fairgrounds when the twister barrelled through, wiping out structures that have hosted fair events and other activities for more than half a century.

Fortunately, the $1.2 million FFA enrichment center named after Gil and Donna White of Charles City remained relatively unscathed.

One window on the top ridge of the building was smashed by a flying 2-by-4 and there were some panels under the front awning area that were knocked out of place, but Staudt said the center was checked out by architects, contractors and an insurance adjuster.

“That building is good to go,” she said.

“I didn’t even know it was coming,” Staudt said about the tornado that hit about 12:30 p.m. on Memorial Day. “I really had no clue what was going on for the simple fact there was just no warning. It was out of the blue. I really wasn’t sure what I was hearing at the time.”

Confusion soon turned to disbelief when she stepped outside after the noise subsided. The 4-H exhibit building was a complete loss. The brick building that hosted the Little Miss Floyd and Little Mr. Floyd contest last summer at the fair was turned into a pile of rubble.

“We just won’t have interior building seating for a lot of our show schedule that we’ve had in the past with the brick building,” said Staudt.

The brick building was one of the oldest buildings on the property, which began to be developed for fairs in 1955. Ironically, the brick building was also used in the past as a storm shelter when inclement weather approached.

“Our first priority is obviously the safety of everyone who is going to be out at the fairgrounds. We need to make sure the buildings that are still there can be used,” said Staudt.

Wind rated by the National Weather Service at up to 110 mph ripped the roof off the hoop building. The dairy barn also lost its roof.

The three buildings and barns that house horses, cattle and sheep also still need to be checked out to see if they are cleared for fair use. A structural engineer will assess the soundness of each building that is still standing.

“We’re not moving forward with cleanup on any of those type of buildings for the simple fact the structural engineer has to come in and say, ‘hey, this one is fixable, this one is not,” Staudt said.

She said she won’t have a precise figure as to what the cost of the damage may be until the insurance adjuster and structural engineer come up with estimates that will give the Fair Board some indication what buildings can be repaired.

“We’re still waiting for the adjuster to give us the estimates of the damages on four or five of the buildings yet — four of them he totaled out completely,” said Staudt.

“I’m sure it’s close to a million dollars or better, just off the top of my head, I would guess,” she said.

Staudt said that if any of the buildings that housed the livestock are not deemed structurally sound, a contingency plan could be put in place where daily shows could be run and then animals would be dismissed after they are shown or done competing.

The thought of putting up temporary buildings in time for the fair which runs July 17-21 was not an option, according to Staudt.

“We’re not going to jump into any hurrying on putting any buildings back up,” she said. “As far as the fair this year, we’re basically going to have to run maybe a big tent.”

Entertainment acts that are scheduled this summer like the Aussie Kingdom and Kidbucks Game Show bring their own trailers, sound systems and can set up outside.

Staudt said none of the grandstand area was affected by the tornado.

“A lot of our acts are self-contained. They can be placed anywhere,” said Staudt. “We’ll work with a tent area with bleacher seating under it for like our hypnotist, our magic shows and stuff like that.”

She said the response from hundreds of people from the area who have helped out or are willing to lend a helping hand has been overwhelming. She said she’s been more than appreciative of their concern and generosity.

“All the school systems as well as our surrounding fairs have all extended help and their fairgrounds. We have options,” said Staudt.

The main goal, she said, is to bring the fairgrounds back to life so it’s able to host yet another fun-filled fair.

“It’s heartbreaking. You feel that loss of, ‘OK, we established this, this and this and things were going so well in those areas.’ It kicks you back but you have to really focus on now – clean up, let’s get the fair in, then we’ll rebuild. That’s kind of what we’re doing,” said Staudt.

Staudt says she doesn’t have time to dwell on what’s been lost, but instead is focused on the road ahead.

“Emotions are on hold right now,” she said. “The rebuild’s the key. Let’s get it rebuilt and move forward.

“We’ll never forget this year, but we can add on and we can make it a better fair every year,” she said.