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♪♪ ♪♪ BILL RILEY: We're swinging into the final moments of Fair 2022.

But there's still plenty of time to enjoy the fun and excitement of the Iowa State Fair.

I'm Bill Riley, and welcome to our Friday night fair coverage on Iowa PBS.

We've got another full hour of highlights ready to roll.

We're going to feel the thunder at the truck and tractor pulls.

Watch a fun food demonstration in The Kitchen.

And we're going to find out who can fling a cow chip the furthest.

But before we do all of that, we'll enjoy some highlights from the annual Iowa State Fair Veterans Parade.

It's always a privilege to honor those who have served our country, and this year, we have the unique opportunity to celebrate our female veterans.

[ Applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ANNOUNCER: Next we have members of the Women's Veterans Action Committee from the American Legion of Iowa.

Their mission is to raise awareness of women veterans' needs.

Today's grand marshals are outstanding military service women.

Mary Ellen White graduated from Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Cedar Rapids, where she joined the Army Student Nursing Program.

MARY ELLEN WHITE: This is really neat.

I think it's time they recognize the women veterans.

Yeah.

Because our welcome home wasn't too good when I came back.

And they're doing better now with the people coming back from war, but it's quite a bit different from when we went and came home.

We were a single individual.

We didn't go in groups, mostly.

I mean, there were, you know, some of the guys that did the dirty work went in groups, but like all the nurses, you know, everybody went.

You had orders just for yourself.

It wasn't for a group.

ANNOUNCER: She is a 35 year member of Vietnam Veterans of America.

Her last office was the national secretary.

She's the only known woman Vietnam veteran still living in Iowa.

MARY ELLEN: I have a son who's in the reserves, and once in a while, I will be at his unit and be able to talk to younger women, but I know I've had a lot of them say, well, you guys paved the way.

And I say, well, thank God you guys don't have it so bad.

ANNOUNCER: Now we have Fort Des Moines 103rd Expeditionary Army Reserve.

[ Applause ] I would like to thank all Iowans for their support of veterans.

MARY ELLEN: People are very aware of veterans nowadays, I think.

And they're very accepting, friendly, recognition.

So things have greatly improved.

PAUL YEAGER: Getting time with Ernie Barnes is not easy, but we were able to get you on a different golf cart.

You okay riding with mine?

ERNIE: I'll trust your driving.

PAUL: This is a corn dog conversation, so before we get started, I have to give you one of these.

ERNIE: You've got the best brand out here.

I'm not saying whose it is, but it's the best brand.

PAUL: We're going to go around your building, because I want to learn more about what you do.

What's the swine superintendent mean?

What's your job?

ERNIE: You're in charge of the entire barn.

I've got a crew of half a dozen people that help us do this.

This week we have 4-H pigs in the barn.

I don't have a lot to do with the 4-H exhibiters, but if they need some help, if a water drain were to plug up, we get a hold of maintenance, if we have an electricity issue.

I'm supposed to be the know it all for the entire barn, and more than not, the barn runs us.

But it's a great as atmosphere to see all our friends.

PAUL: Walking around here, people come in around your door, and they want to look at he big boar.

Do you hope they take a step further into the barn?

ERNIE: We would like them to.

It's amazing how the young people we put next to the big boar will share their production knowledge with them, and they get asked all kinds of questions, so it's a good educational opportunity for those young people to talk about the big boar as well as pork production here in Iowa.

PAUL: Ernie, when you walk around -- I was asking about walking around the building, and now I want to say stop for a minute because when you look in and see all these families, right over our shoulder, there's a young family that she can't be much older than five or six.

What's it like to see the generations take part in something at the fair like a hog exhibit?

ERNIE: It's probably one of the biggest reasons I do this.

Over the years, and I'm in my 20th-21st year of doing this, I've seen two generations come through.

Mom and dad, we've seen engagements happen here, and now they've got kids showing pigs here.

PAUL: From an industry standpoint, what are we doing right when we have a show like the fair?

ERNIE: I think we're showcasing the youth of tomorrow.

I say it lots of times.

It's not about the pigs.

It's about the kids.

And I don't care if these young people turn in to being pork producers, if they're doctors and lawyers, and they're willing to remember the positive sides of the experience here at the fair, they're helping us whether they go to Cornell or some other New York university.

So what a great opportunity for these young people to share no matter what they may choose to go into as their career.

PAUL: We have other parts of the barn to see and I have more questions, so let's keep eating that corn dog.

You mentioned earlier about generations.

You can remember second generations.

That's an Iowan thing.

A rural thing too, right?

What does generational agriculture -- you're from a -- just like in Mississippi, generations matter.

ERNIE: Absolutely.

You take the advice they give you.

You hopefully can leave it better than you got it, whether it's pinning down land, livestock or whatever, and I know my Grandad, we just had a small cattle operation, and he said the main thing you can do is make my cow herd better than I had it.

AHe always hoped you can do that, but the same with farm ground, leave it better than you found it.

I think we try to do that, and Iowans are great at doing that.

PAUL: Ernie, thank you so very much for taking time and enjoy your corn dog.

ERNIE: I will.

Thank you a lot.

ELLYSE HOLUBAR: My name is Ellyse Holubar, and I'm pretty involved in 4-H static wise and livestock wise.

I show at the county, I show sheep, pigs, rabbits, and dairy, and static projects I'm involved in child development, food and nutrition, sewing and needle arts, visual arts, gardening.

I'm really big into horticulture, so overall pretty involved, and I love 4-H.

I started 4-H when I was ten, so this will be my ninth year and my last year.

I kind of knew 4-H from the start.

I'm the youngest of five, and all my siblings have gone through 4-H, and I couldn't wait for it to be my turn.

I got involved and followed in my family's footsteps, and I've enjoyed it all nine years.

The state fair is very competitive.

It's a whole different kind of ball game.

Here at county, you might have done very well and been very successful with your animals, but at state fair, you're very humbled.

It's a fight to win.

Some people are kind of ruthless with getting their animals ready and the preparation and those people live in those barns.

When I take sheep up, there's always a ton of sheep in there.

I always try to bring my best ones and hope to compete pretty well with them.

I also take rabbits.

There's a lot of rabbits that come up there.

It always surprises me the competition up there.

I can't stress it enough.

It puts it in a perspective about all these animals statewide that people have had and want to bring.

It's really exciting getting to compete at the upper level.

There's some nerves on showing day, but there's also a lot of excitement.

I show sheep, pig, dairy and rabbits.

Dairy is fairly new.

Dairy I also got into for fun.

It's a fun project.

It's not my forte.

I encourage 4-Hers to try new projects.

We have a lot of rabbits at home we bring and take care of, and it benefits me in the end.

I've won Grand Champion Rabbit three times over my past 4-H years.

Last year, I actually won Grand Champion Rabbit, so that was really exciting.

I would say that my parents have been my main supporters throughout this all.

I drew on a lot of inspiration from them.

My mom was a 4-Her, and she brings out the best in us, and she's instilled that throughout our family.

I give credit to my dad on the livestock part, and a ton of credit to my mom on the static part.

My advice to any 4-Her is to go out and try new things.

There are so many opportunities in 4-H.

Being raised the way I have, I continue to promote and encourage them to try new things, don't be b scared.

It's full of endless opportunities and it will shape your character, and your attitude will shape how you enjoy the fair and those experiences will carry you on through the years.

BILL RILEY: Well, it's time for a little more trivia.

Tonight's question is take a look at this photograph, and see if you can place it on the fairgrounds.

Is it in the Livestock Pavilion, Heritage Village, little Hands on the Farm, or was it taken at the Sheep Barn?

We'll bring you the answer a little later in the show.

But first, our good friend Blair Ryan introduces us to something new at the Iowa State Fair this year, food demonstrations in The Kitchen.

BLAIR RYAN: Typically, when I think salsa, I think veggie loaded, but today, we're going fruit forward.

JENNIFER BEHNKE: So first we're going to talk about fruits and produce and what you should do to get ready to eat them.

BLAIR: Tell us what's going on here today in the kitchen.

JENNIFER: I'm part of Iowa State Culinary Science Club, and I was asked by the Iowa State Fair Kitchen to come here and do some workshops.

I'll be presenting how to make a fruit salsa.

Talking to kids about fruits and how it's good for you and how to cut fruit safely, and then we're all going to be doing a salsa together, and then they get to eat it.

At Iowa State we have Culinary Food Science, which is a program which a lot of people think they hear culinary and think we're just cooking, but it's mainly about the science behind food and cooking.

So I've done a few of these workshops at Iowa State, and anybody from the area can come.

Now we're doing these at the fair and we're really excited we have this kitchen here that we can really make this a big thing.

We're going to be using two teaspoons of vegetable oil, and we're also going to be using two teaspoons of lime juice.

TREY, PARTICIPANT: My favorite part of the salsa is the pineapple.

It's the main ingredient and stuff.

I'm not sure what my favorite part of making it was.

Maybe just learning how to chop it the correct way and stuff.

BLAIR: You made your fruit salsa here today.

What part surprised you the most, or what was your favorite thing that you learned?

PATRICK, PARTICIPANT: That it includes pineapple.

I didn't know that at the beginning.

BLAIR: What was your favorite part about the fruit-making salsa experience today?

LEXIE, PARTICIPANT: Probably getting to use real knives for the first time since we haven't been able to do that.

BLAIR: Was it tricky to cut, or was it easier than you thought?

LEXIE: It was pretty easy.

BLAIR: What did you think, Ben?

BEN, PARTICIPANT: It was okay.

The main hard part about it is that watching it so you don't like cut yourself.

JENNIFER: As culinary science students, we love to know about nutrition, and the science behind what we're eating, so we want to also involve the kids on that.

BILL RILEY: In the more than 50 year we have been covering the fair at Iowa PBS, we've encountered the Cow Chip Throwing Contest a lot.

♪♪ PETER HAMLIN 1993: We're here at Pioneer Hall at the 1993 Iowa State Fair for the Cow Chip Throwing Competition.

Every year, we present the cow throwing competition in exactly the same way.

We pick a piece of music, something obvious, some hillbilly music or something like that.

We present this as a silly event year after year.

BILL RILEY: We love covering your favorite contests and events year after year, but sometimes this consistency presents a creative challenge to our producers.

PETER: This time, we're going to do something different.

We're going to look at the art of the Cow Chip Throwing Contest.

CHRIS GOURLEY: I think the first year of cow chip throwing, I did it one way.

I don't know what I did, but the second year, I think I was with Peter on this one, so we did the science of trajectory on how the cow chip is supposed to go through the air.

And the third one, I think I did it so it was obvious I was not going to do it anymore.

PETER: It soars just like an eagle in the sky and seems as if forever it could fly.

Come on, it's beautiful.

PRODUCER: It stinks.

It's not what they're throwing that stinks.

PETER: You guys have no artistic sense whatsoever.

This part?

Who knows why or how cow chip throwing got started, and we're not sure if we care.

That's your lead?

Now, you may remember last year, I tried to bring you this event by focussing on the grace of cow chip throwing, but you may also remember I had some serious disagreements with my producer about that approach.

Well, we have dealt with that this time.

I think Jerry decided, yeah, he's tired of doing cow chip.

♪♪ MORGAN HALGREN, 2003: I'm here at Pioneer Hall getting ready for the Cow Chip Throwing Contest.

I have been covering the state fair for 25 years, and in the past, I was always invited to join the competition, but about five years ago, I threw a cow chip and hit a camera man, and the phone has been silent.

Nobody's been asking me.

♪♪ JUDGE: I got hit twice today.

And I had a floater in the cup.

And it's a dangerous job, but somebody has to do it.

>> Now an event that makes you glad there's no such thing as smell-o-vision.

>> This is one where everybody really chips in.

Are there a lot of entrants in the competition today?

>> Why do you have that on your nose?

>> What on my nose?

>> Don't you have something -- >> No, I don't.

How many are competing today?

>> I don't know the exact number.

They're still taking registrations.

BILL RILEY: If we've learned anything over the years here at Iowa PBS, it's that we can't take ourselves too seriously.

>> I thought this was going to be a smelly event, but it isn't smelly at all.

BILL: Which takes us to 2022, where the tradition continues at Pioneer Hall.

Hi, Bill Riley here, and I'm known for some of the classier events here.

Of course, the talent championships.

I participate in the crowning of the Iowa State Fair queen, so I took it upon myself to come up to Pioneer Hall and put a little more culture into things here at the Cow Chip Throwing Contest.

♪♪ You know, through the years, people have accused me of being full of it.

After I sign this piece of paper, I'm going to get to toss it.

PAUL YEAGER: Need help spelling your name?

BILL: I was wondering where you were.

Are you okay this morning?

PAUL: Yeah, I'm all warmed up.

I've already run a couple of miles.

BILL: Do you know who Barry Bonds is?

PAUL: Whatever it takes.

They didn't kick him out of the league.

They're not kicking me out.

WYATT ROSENBALM: I think I did great for my first time.

PRODUCER: How far did you throw?

WYATT: 114 feet.

I was like, "Hey, mom, when's that cow chip thing?"

So she figured it out, we came today, and I threw the cow chip.

BILL: You know, Paul, when I'm looking at this, I just want to make sure everybody knows that Bill has two Ls, and Riley is R-I-L-E-Y.

PAUL: My name is already on there, though.

BILL: Yeah, I saw that.

♪♪ PAM HEEMSTRA: I guess I did okay.

It's the first time I've ever thrown.

PRODUCER: How far did you throw?

PAM: 77 feet.

I used to throw disks in high school.

Thought I would try it.

I was hoping I would throw over 10 feet.

That's all.

ANNOUNCER: Next up, please welcome Bill Riley to the throwing line.

Bill.

Next up, Paul Yeager.

PAUL: There was a brutal round today, Bill.

BILL: Where's your staff?

Don't you usually have a staff that pats you down.

A masseuse?

PAUL: I must not have been as warmed up as I thought.

I just didn't get much distance.

It's all about the competition.

We're going to work hard, review the tape, try it next year and see how it goes.

BILL: Thanks to everybody for the invite.

We had a gas.

♪♪ Did you win a ribbon at the fair this year?

Congratulations.

Here are some of the lucky and talented winners.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ BILL RILEY: We're going to take a quick break, but don't go away, we've got more fair highlights coming your way like these.

Remember the Wild Wild West with a Cowboy Mounted Shooting Competition.

We'll see how who has the sharpest skills and the most grit at the Mountain Man Camp.

And we'll learn more about how food gets from the farm to your table at the Farm to Fair Dinner.

We'll see you right back here for more state far fun on Iowa PBS.

The competition, it only gets closer as the week goes on at the Riley Stage.

Here are some acts marching on.

♪♪ ♪♪ Don't forget, we'll bring you the talent championships here on Iowa PBS Sunday August 21 at 8:00 p.m. BILL RILEY: And we're back, everyone, and we're just in time to head over to the Jacobson Center for some fun.

This is the Mounted Shooting Competition.

♪♪ JOE CAFFERY: Mounted shooting is precision shooting with colt 45 revolvers on horseback.

We have a core set course, and we shoot five balloons, holster, pull out your second gun and shoot your second five, all for time.

JACEE BALL: I got started in this sport simply because I grew up riding horses, and I also grew up shooting guns, and this sport encompasses both of those.

It's great, desensitizing your horse, and on top of it, the people in this sport are absolutely amazing.

KRISTI TRAVIS: So everyone around here, there's probably over 20 people wearing blue shirts, and they're all the Travis family.

The Travis family is from Creston, Iowa, and we're probably the majority here today, and we're all wearing blue shirts to match so they can tell us apart.

KADEN BOLTON: There's 30 of us shooting in Creston now.

We went to a clinic one time, and we decided we wanted to do it.

We all had guns and horses, so what better idea to combine the both of them?

It humbles you very fast.

You can have a great stage, and then the very next stage, you can miss one and completely throw you off.

So it's a very humbling sport, but it's a lot of fun.

Everybody's super encouraging here.

You make a lot of really good friends and are able to have a great time.

JACEE: Oh, I think the horses absolutely love it.

When they go in the arena, they know exactly what they're about to do.

As you can see, he hears is shooting, and his ears start perking up and his feet start dancing.

JOE: You got to take care of them.

They're working hard for you out there.

So it's constantly making sure they're healthy and good to go and just go out there and you have that connection.

JACEE: It takes a lot of courage.

And it takes a phenomenal animal, great horses.

Takes an army to do this sport because you have your friends that help you out.

You have your guns, all your equipment that you have to bring to every event, make sure that you are prepared and ready to go because it can be a dangerous sport any time you're dealing with horses, somebody can get hurt, but we always hope for the best.

Like I said, it just takes a village for this sport.

Hi.

I'm Brooke Kohlsdorf.

Yoga can be challenging both mentally and physically for school-aged children.

Let's check in with some students as they learn about the benefits of yoga.

INSTRUCTOR TAMI BINGHAM: For the cat, we're going to arch our back, and for the cow, we're going to drop our belly down low and look up.

Now that you've got the movement down, I want you to make the noises with it.

So when we make our cat and arch our back, what sound are we making?

I think it's a neat way to try something different, and they're getting a little exercise, but at the same time, it's a calming exercise, so I know a lot of schools are doing it in the classroom a little more as a movement thing, but the breathing calms them down.

So inhaling up.

There you go.

Back down.

Again.

All right.

We're going to go back to our feet.

We're going to do a yoga sequence again, but we're going to make it a ladder.

We'll see how good you guys are at remembering things.

Stand dog.

There we go.

And our Llamas.

Warrior two.

They're proud of themselves because it's something that almost all of them are able to do.

It's not like a sport where you have to have a certain skill to jump high or run fast.

They're all able to participate and excel at it, so they feel confident and proud of themselves when they're done.

Inhale back up.

Step back.

Hands to our heart.

Shoot those arms out.

Then jump to the top.

Perfect.

BROOKE: What's your favorite part of yoga?

What do you like about doing it?

ALEXIS: I like to feel stretched out.

And I just like to stretch and stuff.

Step back.

Hands to our heart.

Shoot them out.

Jump.

Good job, guys.

Now I want you to sit down, pull each other.

There you go.

These girls in the front got it.

BROOKE: Was this your first time ever doing yoga?

LASON: Yes, it was.

BROOKE: What did you think?

LASON: I liked it.

TAMI: Maybe start with your hands next to you and raise them up in the air once you got it.

We got hand holding, that's so sweet.

Good job, guys.

Now I want you to lay on your bellies and face your partner.

So we're going to do what we did earlier, remember how we made our snakes?

But I want you to press into your partner's hands to raise them up.

I think it's just exposing them to different varieties of exercise whether it's kids yoga or pool noodle jumping, it's introducing it in different ways that exercise isn't necessarily basketball.

There are different things, and if you find something you like and excel at it, that's something they can do long term.

BROOKE: Do you feel better having done yoga?

Or how do you feel right now.

LASON: I feel better than I did before.

BROOKE: Is this your first time doing yoga?

ALEXIS: No.

I've done it with my mom and sister before.

BROOKE: So you're kind of a pro at this.

ALEXIS: Kind of.

TRAVIS GRAVEN: At the far northeast corner of the fairgrounds, tucked away between the Susan Knapp ampitheater and the fire station, you're going to find a series of tents and tepees.

It's a recreation of a mountain man rendezvous and it's a great place to learn a lot more about this way of life.

What I'm going to use is pyrite.

And I strike the pyrite with flint.

It's a Greek word that stands for fire.

That's where you get pyrotechnic.

[ Applause ] CHRIS BARRY: When the mountain men had been up there trapping and the fur traders trapping all winter, then they needed to bring their goods to market to replenish their stock of things that is they needed, and what's been several weeks visiting, trading goods, catching up on the news, so this is a reenactment of that time period.

TRAVIS: If you think, well, that looks pretty fun, you can actually buy a few tomahawk throws and try it yourself.

Let's see if I can avoid embarrassing myself here.

Yes!

Bulls eye.

We missed the match, but we got a little bit of the card, so I will take that any day for a starter.

That right there is good.

Look at the sharp edge on that.

You don't see that every day.

We're not like on every corner.

But I think it's a good way -- people are really interested.

Everyone's culture made stone tools.

That's something we all have in common.

Like the fire, like breathing, like spirit, and so it's a way of connecting with that part of themselves.

They all have it in their ancestry.

TRAVIS: Mark, you make a variety of flutes.

They're gorgeous.

Tell me more about them and how you got started.

MARK NELSON: I started making flutes just because I love the sound.

I fell in love the minute I heard the flute, I fell in love.

So I was too poor to buy one, so I decided I would try to make it.

I want to make a really good flute because I want people to enjoy the sound that I did.

♪♪ TRAVIS: A lot of these things are ways of life and things that people don't see nowadays.

Why is it important to share that with fairgoers and let them see this?

CHRIS: I think mainly the history and the perseverance of our ancestors and the ingenuity and creativity.

They used the God given resources on the land and in nature to basically provide everything they needed.

But it was not just handed to them.

They had to work to change it into the form that they could use it for food, clothing, housing, shelter.

BILL RILEY: Hey, how did you do with tonight's trivia question?

So the question was take a look at this photograph and where was it taken.

Was it at the Livestock Pavilion, Heritage Village, little hands on the Farm or was it in the Sheep Barn?

Does it look familiar?

We were just there.

It was in the Heritage Village.

It's a section of the fairgrounds that depicts Iowa life around the time that the fair was established way back in 1854.

Now let's travel to the DNR Building just west of the Grandstand.

The folks there love to share their knowledge of Iowa's beauty and wildlife.

DANA LAIN: The best part about camping is the food, but sometimes you want more than hot dogs and hamburgers.

Here in the DNR Courtyard, we're learning techniques you can use for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and dessert.

♪♪ ELIZABETH THACKER: We're using pie ironS - cast iron on a stick and making food in the outdoors.

Has anybody used one of these before?

For the pie iron, I always like to start by warming it up, and once it's warmed, I put it on my wood so I don't melt things, melt the table.

I'll spray it down, get it seasoned and ready so the bread doesn't stick.

Then I'm going to add all my ingredients.

So I'm doing pizzas.

Once I'm done with the filling, I'm going to close it up quickly, put the bread in, I'm going to put it on the cools or fire and flip it occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn.

I'm going to open it up and check on it and once it's done, take it over and unload it and cut it up, and it's ready to eat.

The benefit is you get that long duration of time that you can share and make things with your family and really experience all the things that go into making the food, slow it down, and really have that time with your family in the woods and outdoors.

♪♪ Any breakfast, lunch, dinner things you can come up with, that's what you can make.

My favorite recently that I have been making is French toast.

When it's toasted and then it's warmed, it's so good.

Anything you can think of putting in between two slices of bread, do it.

And it doesn't have to be bread.

You can do tortillas, so you can make tacos.

Sometimes they just do hash browns and an egg and cook it and no bread or anything like that.

I really like the pudgy pies because everyone likes sandwiches, so you can bring whatever ingredients.

If people don't like certain things, they can push it together and make what they want.

So it's good to use something everybody can use and everybody can have a hand in making.

Recently, I was on a camping trip, and it was so fun.

I cooked breakfast and dinners over the fire, so I had to make it.

So that mean getting up before everybody so the fire is ready, and I really enjoyed that because that peace that comes with being the only one awake in the campground, having that peace, putting it into the love you have for the food, that makes it even more wonderful.

DANA: A simple tool like a pie iron will make your outdoor experience a surprise culinary experience too.

EMILY WYNN: This is the Farm to Fair Meal.

This is a chance for consumers to sit down and have a meal right next to the farmer that produced their meal.

We decided a few years ago it would be a way to show our fairgoers the connection between the farmer and their food.

They had to apply to come, and 100 were selected and they're bringing a guest, and we'll also have 100 farmers mingled in with them.

MICHA HUME: My mom said she had won tickets to this and said, "we're going."

WHITNEY HOLZ: I just saw it on Facebook, and I thought it was really cool.

He's very interested in agriculture.

Grandparents had a farm.

They had cows, chickens, pigs, peacocks, they had a ton of stuff.

I was lucky enough to grow up with that.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to.

I was going to try to keep it a surprise up until today, but I'm not very good at that.

So I told hip and surprised him, and he was pretty pumped about it.

MIKE NAIG: You see somebody with one of these Proud Iowa Farmer buttons on, that means that is open game.

You can ask them anything about agriculture.

DANIELLE DREES: As many generations removed from the farm that we are, I'm sure there will be many interesting topics brought up tonight.

I'm happy to give the consumers a better understanding of why we do what we do.

EMILY: It's sponsored by our seven commodity groups in Iowa.

The Midwest Dairy Association, the Iowa Beef Industry Council, Iowa Pork Producers, Iowa Corn, Iowa Soy Bean, Iowa Turkey, and Iowa Egg.

MIKE NAIG: Some of you already found this, but you have your menu for tonight in here, and we're feasting on some wonderful Iowa grown products.

MIKE NAIG: The third time that we've done this at the Iowa State Fair.

In a new venue tonight.

We're in the Alliant Energy Landing, which I couldn't think of a better location for this.

This is all about learning about Iowa ag and celebrating Iowa agricultures.

There's fewer and fewer people directly involved in food production in this country which makes it even more important that we are trying to connect those dots.

That consumers have a better appreciation of where their food comes from.

Over the last couple of years, we have seen disruption to our supply chain.

Folks have gone into grocery stores and not been able to find everything they want or as much as they want.

I pray what comes out of that is that appreciation or understanding that food starts on a farm somewhere.

SIMONE BRADLEY: We just finished taking the bar and moving and finishing school, and we were looking for a vacation to go on, so I thought a tour to Iowa would be really fun because the fair was happening, and she's been talking it up for years, so we had to come.

ERIN AUSTIN: Once she floated the idea of us doing an Iowa trip, we knew we would go to my parents' house in rural Iowa.

I was looking at the schedule of things, and this happened to be here, and I thought, I'll definitely see if we can get here.

There are corn-based items on the menu now, that was a huge seller for me.

SIMONE: And peaches.

It's something you have to see to believe with the Iowa hype.

I do understand it.

Erin loves Iowa so much that you can't help but also feel like you've got to love it or what's wrong with you?

A lot of our friends are in Europe right now, and I'm like, no, Iowa is where to be.

PAUL YEAGER: Welcome to the 2022 Truck and Tractor Pulls.

You know the drill, fans.

It's skilled dirt track motorists in mean machines buying for the best distance hauling a massive load.

The pulls enjoyed a decades long run at the Grandstand, but unlike 2020's preemption, this Iowa State Fair classic endured four years of lockdown.

Roaring into a new home, the Elwell Family Park.

I'm Paul Yeager.

Let's take a look at some of the highlights.

We open up with the Pro 4x4, Allen Brommel driving "Wild Thing."

He's out of New Virginia, Iowa.

The Dodge does well.

Great open.

Third place.

3:33.42'.

Keith Hammons out of Green City, Missouri, driving "BiPolar."

He's going to go by a whole lot of competition with this, Paul.

The old Chevy, second place, 337.92'.

And Jeremy Stephens out of Beatrice, Nebraska.

The "Irritator."

He's getting under the skin of his competitors with this great pull on the GMC.

First place, 344.10'.

PAUL YEAGER: We caught up with Dave Nelson of Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pull earlier who gave us the lowdown on the new track at the Elwell Famly Park.

DAVE NELSON: The Grandstand had is own nostalgia and its own place in history.

The track was a racetrack, so the track was hard.

When we have this kind of sun and temperatures in August, that track got really hard.

Being able to come over to the Elwell center, they specifically asked us, what kind of a pull and track do you want?

We're going to build it for you.

They dug down 24 inches and they brought in dirt for that whole area of clay/sand mixture that we told them we wanted.

PAUL: Now on to the Super Farm.

Chad Weitzenkamp.

Hooper, Nebraska is his town.

"Someday," he's going to drive that turbo.

Look at the old IH, the International.

Third place, 335.39'.

Great start.

Now it's Tommy Platte out of Hubbard, Iowa.

He's drive "A Gray Area."

The John Deere gets air born.

Green means go to second place, 338.78'.

And Dave Roseboom out of Rock Valley, driving "Red Rock."

The old 1466 is rocking and rolling and pulling, a first place finish of 352.29'.

DAVE: My favorite thing about tractor pulling and truck pulling, it's the noise on the track, but it's the noise in the pits as well.

It's the smoke, it's the diesel smell, it's the alcohol, and it's the rumble in your body when those things are going down the track with all the torque and power.

This is NASCAR of tractor truck and pulling for us farm boys.

PAUL: Now time for the modified tractors.

Donald Nelson out of Cat Springs, Texas.

He's driving "Twisted Whip."

Pops a wheelie and pops off a great pull, third place.

304.97'.

Cameron Neaves driving "Cotton Candy."

He's out of McAdoo, Texas.

Look at this sweet pull.

Fans love it.

So does the engine.

Second place, 305.38'.

And now, Wayne Longnecker, the "River Rat," not too far from his home of Cambridge, Iowa.

He flows on down the track, great debut to first place, 320.41'.

Thanks for joining us for Truck and Tractor Pulls.

I'm Paul Yeager.

To quote my friend Bill Riley, have fun at the fair.

BILL RILEY: Before we go, let's slow down and take a quiet moment to enjoy another as if you were there at the fair.

♪♪ BILL RILEY: And that wraps up another evening of Fair 2022.

If you want to experience the show again, go to our website or our YouTube channel.

There you can find our full show list.

Our Facebook and Instagram pages, they have loads of state fair stories there from the past and the present.

Make sure you check it out.

There's a variety of ways you can engage with us about our beloved Iowa State Fair any time, anywhere.

But we'll be back again tomorrow night with a very special night of coverage which includes some traditional Saturday night favorites.

Like the 4H and FFA Sale of Champions.

We'll also experience something new at the fair this year, the Sensory Friendly Morning.

And we'll learn about building a house at the fair.

So don't miss it.

It's the best state fair coverage around, right here on Iowa PBS.

Until tomorrow night, I'm Bill Riley.

Remember, have fun at the fair.

♪♪ ♪♪ Funding for Fair 2022 is brought to you by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation.

And by For more than 110 years, EMC Insurance Companies has served policy holders, independent agents and local communities, providing insurance products for both business and life.

Count on EMC.

[Iowa Pork Producers] Caring for pigs is not just an individual job, it truly does take a village to put safe, healthy food on your table and keep farming sustainable.