It was a pretty rough year for the Faribault County Fair in 2023, and at the annual meeting of the Faribault County Agricultural Society, which runs the fair, Fair Board members and others learned just how bad it was.

Overall, the cost of the fair put the Fair Board in the hole by a negative $133,768.

That came about with just getting $78,199 in income, and cost of sales (expenses) at $142,708.

Then there was another $69,259 in expenses such as repairs and maintenance, insurance, utilities, advertising, paying judges and more.

The loss of the $133,768 was nearly erased by a transfer of funds from the Ag Society of $128,200, and then another transfer from the Ag Society of $2,000.

That put the final net loss for the fair at $3,568.

The reason for the huge dip in income this year? The Fair Board had one major answer.

Extremely hot weather kept people away.

“It was miserable,” one Fair Board member said. “People just did not want to go to the fair when it was so unbearably hot.”

An example of the loss is in the grandstand results. The fair took in $13,080, while the tractor pull cost them $12,679 and the rodeo cost $19,500.

The cost of all the other entertainment around the fairgrounds during the four days of the fair was just over $80,000. Most of those events are free for the public, and the fair took in just $2,683 on them.

Same story for the carnival. The fair board took in $1,127, but it cost them $21,701 to have it there.

The beer garden was one of the few money-makers, with the fair taking in $11,233 while the cost of the beer was $4,325.

During the Fair Board meeting, held after the Ag Society annual meeting, an election of officers for the Fair Board was held.

Both current board president Marlin Prange and current secretary Robin Stenzel were nominated for the position of president. Board member Rob Tvedten, who nominated Stenzel, said he thought it was time for a change in leadership.

Prange was re-elected by a 6-5 vote. Stenzel was re-elected as secretary and David Murray as treasurer.

Tvedten and Joe Stevermer had been serving as co-vice presidents, but both declined to be nominated for re-election. Daryl Murray was nominated and elected as vice-president.

During the Ag Society Annual Meeting, former Fair Board member Milt Steele raised several concerns and issues with the Ag Society Board.

There was a concern the Ag Society and Fair Board were not adhering to the Open Meeting Law.

He also was concerned that his post card, notifying him of the annual meeting, had arrived that same day of the meeting. He pointed out they should be mailed 10 days before the meeting, according to the bylaws.

Board members said they would investigate whether they need to be following the open meeting laws, and they also said the post cards were mailed as soon as they were printed and addressed.

They also promised to make better notice of the annual meeting next year.

One of Steele’s other concerns had to do with the 4-H show ring building, and the fact that the Fair Board helped pay for it and never was paid back.

“The Fair Board was not supposed to help fund it, but at the end they put in money to get the project done,” Steele said. “I believe that was supposed to be paid back.”

The Ag Society board said they would investigate that issue as well.