Thursday, August 13, 2009
Iowa State Fair and Mason City
Today I took my annual trip to the Iowa State Fair and visited with some of my favorite people. I started in the Agriculture Building, where I saw the Butter Cow and a commemorative exhibit of the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo landing on the Moon. The Agriculture Building was full of interesting exhibits, and even early in the morning on the first day of the Fair, it was filled with people.
I walked over to the Varied Industry Building and saw some fascinating exhibits on wind energy and alternative energy sources that we are producing in Iowa. Later in the morning I ran into an old friend. As I was leaving the Varied Industry Building I heard someone singing Patsy Cline, and the rendition was so authentic I headed over to the stage to hear more. The singer turned out to be Denise Shipler, who was with me the day I signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law back in 1990. Denise has an incredible voice, and it was great to see her after all these years.
After visiting with Denise I headed over to the Iowa Pork Producers tent, where I flipped pork chops and patties and poured ice tea for folks during lunch. While there I ran into Mr. Daniel Miller, who was my eighth grade teacher when I was growing up in Cumming. Mr. Miller was at the Fair with his son, Mike, his son’s wife, Julie, and his grandson Luke - who was celebrating his first birthday.
I thought the Fair organizers did a wonderful job this year, and showcased Iowa as well as any Fair I can remember. I had a great time, and left with a pork chop on a stick to bring home for my wife, Ruth.
After spending some time at home, I headed up to Mason City to take a walking tour of Main Street. I met Hilleri Jennings, the Main Street Mason City Director, at the Main Street office. We were joined by Jean Marinos, Mayor of Mason City, Joshua Bruggerman and Laurie Stephens, both with the Main Program and Ann MacGregor the Executive Director of Wright on the Park.
Our first stop was the Kresge Building. The building has been cleaned out to its basic structure and is awaiting the next step in the renovation process.
Next we visited the Parker Opera House. Mason City received $60,000 in 2007 to help restore this beautiful building. Dr. Jay Lala owns the building and was kind enough to let us into his dental office to see how the interior of the first floor has been restored. Dr. Lala found the original architectural drawings and has hung them in the entryway – it was interesting to see the original design for the interior.
And finally, we walked to the Park Inn Hotel and City National Bank building. I am a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work and was delighted to be able to secure two separate appropriations for the building, $500,000 in 2001 and an additional $393,760 in 2008. Frank Lloyd Wright only designed six hotels in his career and this is the only one still standing. I am really looking forward to staying at the Park Inn in the near future.
Main Street revitalization projects are good for economic development and give our small businesses a boost. I was very impressed to see the positive effects the revitalization program is having in Mason City.
I had a great day touring Iowa and visiting with old friends, and look forward to seeing more of you tomorrow as I continue my visit in Mason City.
