​I have a feeling my next few posts are going to be all about county fairs. I was at the Yellow Medicine County Fair in Canby this past week, and I’m heading to the Chippewa County Fair this coming week! So, consider this a heads-up: you’re going to get a front-row seat to my experiences at our local fairs.

​Let’s get started.

If you stopped by the booth this week, you probably saw that I was absolutely buried in interviews. We had an incredible lineup of guests, ranging from rising music stars to young local talent and innovative entrepreneurs.

In case you missed the live broadcasts, here is a quick recap of the fantastic folks who sat down to chat with me:

I finally had the absolute pleasure of meeting Kayal Daniels! She is a Nashville recording artist who plays around our area frequently. Between her music career and being a mom, she is easily one of the busiest musicians around, and it was wonderful to finally connect in person.

Two energetic young boys, Ryson and Carson, stopped by the booth to tell me all about the blast they’ve been having on the water inflatables. Fun fact: I usually only catch up with Ryson on a frozen lake in the dead of January during the Canby Sportsman Club’s annual ice fishing event! It was great to see him out of his winter gear and enjoying the summer sun

Miranda from Dawson/Boyd High School was just minding her own business, registering for our prize giveaways, when I completely put her on the spot. I told her I needed an interview, and to my absolute shock, she happily agreed! She knocked it out of the park and gave a really wonderful interview about everything she’s been up to at the fair this year.

Peter Haugen from Sandhill Mill—who you might recognize as a regular advertiser right here on Q-92—dropped by to talk shop. He shared some fascinating insights into the partnership he shares with his wife, Brittany. They are doing incredible work growing ancient grains and managing the entire milling process themselves.

Dave Verhelst from the Canby Sportsman Club stopped by to promote their latest event. They are putting on a big pickleball tournament inside the brand-new, air-conditioned building they constructed this year. Trust me, that AC is a game-changer!

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Amy from the Canby Chamber talked about all the events that the Canby Chamber does and Crazy Daze is coming up this week.

​This year’s fair in Canby was memorable for a number of reasons. The unbearable heat was the main story on Saturday, but that didn’t stop people from coming out. I brought a fan along to try to keep cool while broadcasting from the Q-92 booth. Inside the exhibit building, it actually wasn’t too terribly hot, but the moment you stepped outside, the heat and humidity hit you like a wall. That was Saturday, though—Thursday and Friday brought absolutely perfect weather.

​What I enjoy most about working in the fair booth is meeting the people who enjoy listening to KLQP. Our listeners make it all worth it! On Thursday, a very well-dressed elderly lady stopped by—she looked like she was dressed for a wedding. She admitted that she always forgets where we are on the radio dial, so I reminded her we’re at 92.1 FM. Then she informed me that the main reason she listens to us is because we are so “informational.” That was her exact word—informational. I’d never heard it put quite like that before! I’m guessing she was referring to all the local coverage we do, and I thought that was pretty cool.

​A couple of gentlemen stopped to tell me to “keep up the good work,” and a veteran wearing a Vietnam cap mentioned how much he enjoys our music selection. Another man thanked me for broadcasting the Canby Jr. Legion game, and we spent a few minutes talking baseball.

​Saturday was a busy day of broadcasting from the booth. I took my annual picture with Mya, who has turned into such a wonderful young woman. We’ve been doing interviews about her 4-H projects since she was in kindergarten, making this our 11th year in a row chatting at the fair! Her brother, Mak, joined us this year, and both of them did very well showing their cows and pigs once again.

​Krystle and Katie from the fair board also sat down with me. They were a little reluctant to go on air, but I twisted their arms, and they did a fantastic job explaining everything happening around the fairgrounds. On Thursday, Krystle and Jody joined me on the radio. At the end of our interview, I asked my usual question: “What is your favorite fair food?” Most people answer with corn dogs, beef commercials, or traditional fair fare. Not Jody—she said Coors Light! That caught me completely off guard and gave us a great laugh.

​I didn’t get a chance to eat too much fair food overall, but I did manage to grab a burrito on Thursday evening. While paying, I accidentally dropped two $20 bills. A nice gentleman picked them up and handed them right back to me! How nice was that? I had no idea I’d even dropped them, and he certainly didn’t have to do that.

​For the very first time in all my years attending the Yellow Medicine County Fair, I ate at the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church stand. It had a nice air-conditioned building and wonderful people serving the food. I ordered the beef commercial, and it was absolutely scrumptious!

​Since it was so hot, I also made sure to sample a few amazing drinks. I had two Maui Wowi Hawaiian Smoothies on Saturday afternoon, along with a wine slushie from Deanna Borstad’s stand.

​All in all, the Yellow Medicine County Fair was another huge success. Hats off to the fair board—these men and women work so hard year-round to put on a great event.

​Up next: Chippewa County in Montevideo this week!