Fair board lays out aggressive growth plan before supervisors

As he explained his grandiose goals for the Grundy County Fair and the fairgrounds in general during Monday morning’s board of supervisors meeting, Fair Board President Jared Gutknecht didn’t mince words. He wants to be bigger, better and self-sufficient.
           
“We want people to come to Grundy. Forget Franklin County, forget Butler, Hamilton, and Hardin,” he said before referencing the two largest county fairs in Iowa. “We want to be Clay County. We want to be Jones County.”
           
As several county departments and agencies and organizations that receive county funding present their requests to the board, Gutknecht asked for $60,000 a year for the next five years. He believes that with a combination of fundraising, increased revenues from events and a new campground, the fair board will be able to operate without county subsidies by the end of that time frame.
           
The biggest obstacle on that path will be the grandstand bleachers, which are in need of major upgrades in the near future, along with routine maintenance of the current buildings.
           
“Every event that we get done where nobody falls through or no kid gets hurt, we do a little happy dance,” Gutknecht said. “(The bleachers) need to be addressed.”
 
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