Rebuilding at fairgrounds nears completion

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The Floyd County Fairgrounds are almost completely back in business.

A year and a half after an EF-1 tornado smashed through the fairgrounds on Memorial Day of 2019 and took down several buildings, the site of the Floyd County Fair is close to being built back better than before.

“We’re not only getting the fairgrounds back and ready for use, but we’re making it better than it was,” said Drew Staudt of the Charles City FFA. “We’re making it a place that’s usable for everyone, and a good spot for the community to come out and get involved.”

Staudt gave a status update regarding the fairgrounds to the Floyd County Board of Supervisors late last month, along with fellow FFA members Jillian Anderson and Kiki Connell. The three, who were speaking on behalf of the FFA, 4-H and the fair board, told the supervisors that the community really came together after 110 mph winds damaged nearly every building standing at the site.

“With the devastation we were dealt, it’s good to see how far we’ve come from there,” Staudt said. “We’re excited for it.”

Staudt said it was fortunate that the tornado missed the Youth Enrichment Center there, causing very little damage to that building, which opened in 2017 after a huge fundraising effort.

As for the other buildings, since the tornado, Staudt said that there has been a picnic shelter erected that sits on the site where the old brick building was, at a cost of about $37,000, paid for entirely from donations. A new playground area was also installed, at a cost of $43,000, also paid off through donations.

A “Little Hands on the Farm” building now sits where the old storage shed was, at a cost of $110,000, paid off through donations and insurance. That building also includes two new restrooms with showers.

To replace the dairy building that was destroyed by the tornado, an addition was built to the cattle/swine building, costing $113,000, paid for through donations and insurance.

The final piece of the fairground puzzle will be a new assembly hall, which will be a 104 by 60 foot structure. That building will stand where the old 4-H food stand was, and will branch out into the courtyard area. The building will cover the purposes used for the old food stand building as well as the old brick building.

“We’re kind of combining it into one and making it a bigger building,” Staudt said. “After that, we should have the fairgrounds fully rebuilt and back where we need them to be.”

That final building will cost $441,000 to complete, of which about $356,000 has been raised. That leaves about $85,000 left to go.

“It’s been donations from people who have something in their hearts for the fairgrounds,” Staudt said. “It’s mostly people who grew up with the fair or have been involved with it all their lives.”

Staudt said that anyone who wants to contribute should contact fair board members or the FFA advisors at Charles City High School, Jim Lundberg and Bret Spurgin.

“Reach out to somebody, because we’re really excited about getting this building up and getting the fairgrounds ready for use for the community,” he said. “It’s a great location for community events.”