THE BALLOON MAN

Nebraska, Iowa State Fairs want big share of the Omaha pie

 

MATT DIXON/WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE
The Nebraska State Fair, which opens Friday in Grand Island, showcases the No. 1 industry in the state — agriculture — and the youth and businesses. During the 2011 fair, Kim Huwaldt of Randolph, Neb., gave her market steer a kiss before judging in the livestock arena.
By David Hendee
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
from:  omaha.com
Published Sunday, August 19, 2012
Forget the 800-pound gorilla.
Ignore the elephant in the room.
Omaha is the 1,200-pound steer — an elusive, blue-ribbon critter — that Nebraska and Iowa State Fair marketing wranglers keep trying to corral.
Omaha is a prime cut — whether in beef state Nebraska or pork state Iowa — from which everyone wants a bite. Not only is the city the largest population center in either state, it's situated about midway between the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines and the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island — about a two-hour drive to either site.
But the Iowa State Fair is biting off more of Omaha than is the Nebraska State Fair.
The Iowa fair, which ends its 11-day run today, attracts an estimated 16 percent of its annual 1 million visitors from the Omaha market. That's 160,000 people. (Click here to see photos from this year's Iowa State Fair.)
read more:
http://www.omaha.com/article/20120819/NEWS/708199925/1685