Lyon County Fair board comes through

THUMBS UP:

We have to agree with the letter writer in Thursday’s edition that the 2019 Lyon County Fair was the best in several years. Back in April the prospects of a successful fair appeared gloomy when the fair board reported to the board of supervisors it was still searching for carnival rides. Well, the fair board came through and eventually announced the fair would have rides. But the board also announced circus acts and other entertainment. The fair board came through in a big way.

Polish sausage contest has promise

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Nothing like a good old hot dog eating contest. The most famous eating contest is held every Fourth of July on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. This year, Joey Chestnut continued his dominance of the event by eating 71 hot dogs to take the title again. Last Saturday, a polish sausage eating contest was held in Ivanhoe during Polska Kielbasa Days. Competitors only had to eat five polish sausages, so it was a timed event. Congratulations to Shane Citterman who won the contest with a time of 2 minutes and 38 seconds. And congratulations to Polska Kielbasa Days organizers for coming up with the new event. That’s an event that might attract more visitors to Ivanhoe. And the timed-event might be a little easier on the contestants’ stomachs.

Sonny Perdue’s bad farmers joke

THUMBS DOWN:

The beating farmers are taking from the tariff war with China is not a laughing matter. Just ask farmers here in southwest Minnesota. Perhaps Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue didn’t get that memo before making a bad joke about farmers during a Farmfest listening session with farmers. When faced with numerous complaints during the session, Perdue joked: “What do you call two farmers in a basement? A whine cellar.” Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish said the joke was “not an appropriate thing to say” and “very insensitive.”