From fishing to fireworks
The McKinley Park Festival is coming up Saturday, July 31. There will lots of new activities this year, including a kids fishing contest at McKinley Lake with lots of good prizes.
The fireworks show will also be a “bang up” affair this year with the large Fourth of July fireworks show going off that night because it was rained out earlier in the month.
There are many new kids activities this year so check out the newspaper next week for the full rundown of events — even a pie eating contest!
Fair
The Union County Fair in Afton gets into full swing starting this weekend.
If you would like a free breakfast, come out Thursday when the Creston News Advertiser, Stalker Chevrolet, Ben Adamson State Farm Insurance and CAP Bob Snodgrass will sponsor the feed. There is a new concession shack this year and the pancakes will be hot and delicious.
More fair
You can get your advance tickets to the Iowa State Fair at any Iowa Lottery outlet. No fancy tickets as in years past, just a piece of paper with how many tickets you bought. Plus, the presale tickets are now $8 instead of $7 because of the fees to run it through the lottery.
Gaming
I read where gambling in Iowa was down 3 percent last year. The average gambler loses $74 on each visit, according to the report. The largest grossing casino in Iowa is Prairie Meadows at $186.6 million, with The Horseshoe in Council Bluffs next bringing in $186 million.
It is the first time since gaming in Iowa started that there has been a downturn in revenues.
Corn
I read you need to be a little taller to be a corn detasseler this year. Some of the corn is over 7 feet tall, and it’s causing problems for the shorter folks who detassel corn. The rain has been good for the corn, but it would be nice if it would only stop raining for a few days in a row!
Beans
I had a drive in the country this week and, in some bean fields, at least I think they were bean fields, there were more weeds than beans. It was more of a weed field with a few beans thrown in. Here again I’m sure all the rain this year has given a shot in the arm to all the weeds out there.
Autos
According to Insure.com, the average auto insurance for a car in Iowa is $1,039. The lowest in the country is Vermont with an average of $969, and the highest is Louisiana with a huge $2,511 average per car.
Football
Football fans of the NFL can rejoice with the opening of most all the training camps next week.
It is hard to believe we are on the downhill side of summer and football season will soon be upon us.
Lenox
This weekend is the big Lenox rodeo, which starts tonight. The event is a great time and includes rodeo types down to the age of 5.
Bikes
Friday night is Bike night at the Elm’s Club. The evening includes a street dance along with a barbecue in which the proceeds go to the McKinley Park restoration fund. It should be a good night to go out and have a little barbecue for a good cause.
Thought for the week: The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. — Samuel Johnson
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