State Fair cancels, Steele likely next

Minnesotans will have to wait for another year to enjoy Minnesota’s “great get together.”
On Friday, the Minnesota State Fair voted to cancel the 2020 fair due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is the sixth time in history that predates the U.S. Civil War in which the fair has been called off. The last time was in 1946 because of the polio epidemic.
“Right now is the time of year when things need to really take off if we're going to have a fair, but we can see that we’re out of runway and can’t get off the ground,” said Jerry Hammer, the fair’s general manager.
The State Fair’s decision did not come as a big surprise to many, including Dan Deml, president of the Steele County Fair, Minnesota’s largest county fair. “It’s inevitable, but incredibly unfortunate,” he said. “It’s unfortunate, but we saw it coming.”
Deml said his board will meet this week to decide on the fate of the Steele County Fair. When this edition of the Times went to press, no date had been set. The fair has a regular scheduled board meeting on June 4, but Deml said a special meeting would be called before then.
“That’s too long to leave vendors hanging,” Deml said of the June 4 meeting. 
As of Friday, the Steele Fair was still on, but Deml gave indications that the fair would likely be canceled as well.
“With the State Fair going down, I have a hunch most (county fairs) will fall in the next couple weeks,” Deml said. “I’m guessing this will fall apart quickly,” he added.
In southeastern Minnesota, Freeborn County was the only fair that had canceled prior to the State Fair’s announcement.
Deml said it would be “virtually impossible” to have a fair like Steele County’s and enforce social distancing. “Maintaining six feet distance isn’t reality,” he said. He also added sanitizing would be next to impossible to accomplish in the fair venue.
“Canceling is a last resort,” Deml said. “As time had gone on, it became obvious holding a county fair would be difficult to impossible.”
The Times will have the latest on the developing fair situation on its website at steeledodgenews.com