State Fair’s impact. 3.7% unemployment. Mosquitoes. Straw poll. A major TV merger.
9/3/2025The theme at the Iowa State Fair this year was Fair Sweet Fair, and the grandstand concert attendance was sweet, indeed. The 131,616 attendees for 2025 broke the previous record of 128,504 set in 2019. Megan Moroney’s performance on Saturday, Aug. 16, drew the largest crowd at 16,371. T-Pain was a close second with 16,202. Pitbull also hit the 16K mark, with 16,090. The other acts throughout the week were Forrest Frank, Parker McCollum, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rascal Flatts, Hairball, Def Leppard, Hank Williams Jr. and KIDZ BOP LIVE.
For reference, the 2019 group of grandstand performances was For King & Country, The Chainsmokers, Slipknot, Zac Brown Band, Toby Keith, Dan + Shay, comedian Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Foreigner, Luke Bryan, Pentatonix and Hootie & The Blowfish. …
The Iowa State Fair is also known for the number of new foods that captivate hungry fair going Iowans every year. Food Bank Iowa, with the help of several vendors, was able to feed hungry Iowans outside the fair, too.
Food Bank Iowa announced that 10 vendors donated nearly 6,000 pounds of surplus food to the Food Bank of Iowa at the close of this year’s fair. The 10 vendors that made up those donations were the Iowa Egg Council, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Sheep Industry Association, Iowa State Fair (Barksdale Cookies), Jalapeno Pete’s, JR’s SouthPork Ranch, Midwest Dairy, Stockman’s Inn, Veggie Table and the West Des Moines United Methodist Church. The USDA estimates up to 40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted each year, which equates to more than $437 billion in wasted food according to Feeding America. The Food Bank of Iowa annually redistributes more than 9 million pounds of food. …
Iowa Workforce Development announced that Iowa’s unemployment rate held at 3.7% in July. At this time last year, the unemployment rate was 3.1%. These are both better than the U.S. unemployment rate, which was 4.2% in July.
The report stated that the total number of unemployed Iowans increased to 64,900 from 63,700 in June. The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,672,000 in July, 600 higher than the previous month.
The seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment numbers were less attractive. While Iowa business establishments added 300 jobs in July, this was a minor increase in the wake of 7,300 losses in jobs in the two months prior. Total monthly nonfarm employment is down 3,600 jobs over the past 12 months. IWD says private service industries fueled the loss. …
Have you been swatting more mosquitoes lately? If you said yes, you had better buy something better than a swatter. The Des Moines City Council previously announced that beginning in calendar year 2025, the city will do one aerial larvicide treatment of sites where mosquito breeding occurs. Due to budget constraints, the city says it will no longer spray, monitor or test mosquitoes. This is less than ideal timing, with some of the worst rates of West Nile virus activity in years. According to Iowa State University, which performs statewide mosquito surveillance, West Nile Virus activity at this point in the summer is the highest it has been in two decades.
While there have been no human cases in Polk County yet, mosquitoes in the county have tested positive for the virus. The Polk County Health Department recommends using EPA-registered insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts, pants and socks when outdoors. The organization also suggests trying to eliminate standing water around your home to reduce breeding sites. …
Who says millennials don’t buy homes? Fortune released a report showing which cities have the highest rate of homeowners younger than the age of 35. Midwest cities dominate the top of the list, with Des Moines ranked second at 19.8%, behind only Grand Rapids, Michigan, at 21.1%. …
Election season is already heating up as the weather is cooling off here in Iowa. More and more candidates announced their bids for races from the U.S. House and Senate, as well as the Governor’s seat. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate held a straw poll at the Iowa State Fair to check the temperature of various races. Keep in mind that 2,000 of the million-plus attendees fairgoers participated. These are the people who received the highest percentages for their respective parties.
For Republicans, Eddie Andrews won with 38.93% for governor. Brad Sherman came second with 28.7%. Randy Feenstra was a close third with 27.38%.
For the U.S. Senate, Joni Ernst easily won with 61.37%.
In Congressional District 1, Mariannette Miller-Meeks won with 54.96%. David Pautsch came in second with 45.04%.
Congressional District 2, Ashley Hinson won with 100%.
In Congressional District 3, Zach Nunn won with 100%.
Congressional District 4, Matt Windschitl won with 37.56%.
For Democrats, Rob Sand won with 86.96% for governor.
In the U.S. Senate, Zach Wahls won with 30.24%. J.D. Scholten came a close second, with 29.76%, but has since dropped out of the race and endorsed fellow Iowa House Representative Josh Turek, who announced his campaign during the fair.
Congressional District 1, Christina Bohannan won with 64.89%.
Congressional District 2, Lindsay James won with 47.27%.
Congressional District 3, Jennifer Konfrst won with 51.12%. Sarah Trone Garriot came second with 39.33%.
Congressional District 4, Stephanie Steiner won with 66.67%. …
Tegna, which owns two Des Moines TV stations, WOI and KCWI, as well as Quad Cities outlet WQAD, was purchased by rival Nexstar for $6.2 billion. The deal puts Nexstar in control of 265 stations across 44 states and Washington, D.C., including WHO13. This could spell trouble for Des Moines’ stations, as the merger conflicts with federal rules that prevent ownership of two television stations in the same market area and an antitrust regulation that prohibits a single entity from owning stations reaching more than 39% of all U.S. households.
A federal appeals court is currently reviewing both of these. A ruling in favor of Nexstar’s purchase would allow them to keep all of Iowa’s stations. ♦
