BROKEN BOW—The Mid-States Rodeo Finals will be held at the Custer County Fairgrounds September 17-19 for another year of competition. The Custer County Ag Society (Fair Board) convened for a regular meeting on Thursday, September 9 to discuss the rodeo finals among other agenda items.
According to the Mid-States Rodeo Association (M-SRA) website, the organization was established “in 1974 and has a membership of nearly 500 cowboys and cowgirls from Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. The primary purpose of the M-SRA is to promote good will and closer cooperation and relationships among stock contractors, contestants, committees, spectators, and everyone involved in the sport of rodeo.”
Mid-States members compete in more than 50 rodeos throughout the summer to qualify for the M-SRA Finals, taking place yet again at Trotter Arena this weekend. The Ag Society is in the process of recruiting more ticket takers for this weekend and is preparing the beer garden as well as putting up blue tarps at the arena.
Also on Thursday night the board recapped the concert held during this year’s Custer County Fair. Administrator Michelle Nelson said the performers put on a good show (Borderline, Sam Cox Band, and Chancey Williams) on August 4 and the fairgrounds netted approximately $9,000 (compared to approximately $17,000 last year). They had about 500 ticket sales and 300 comp tickets.
Board members asked if it is worth doing a concert and suggested moving the concert to the Saturday of fair following the parade. A motion was made by Shane Ryan and seconded by Steve Horn to move the 2022 concert to Saturday, July 30, depending on performer cost and availability. Next year’s fair is scheduled for July 29 through August 4, 2022.
For Wednesday night entertainment during next year’s fair the board suggested doing a kids fun zone.
Grounds Manager JJ Martin said bills will be coming in for repairs made for underground leaks and said the event tractor might need a new starter. He also thanked all of the fairgrounds summer staff for their hard work.
Administrator Michelle Nelson said 40 panels were purchased for $6,550 and she is working with the Rotary Club to apply for a grant through T-Mobile. The grant money would go toward making the grandstands and restrooms handicap accessible.
“To do [this project] ourselves—it’s scary but with a grant it would be better to help defray the costs,” board member Steve Horn said.
Also during the meeting, President Kent Nelson said he signed a contract with Dana F. Cole and the board would also like to take a look at how paperwork is handled and the chain of command for next year’s livestock auction.
The meeting adjourned at 7:46 p.m.
