As the Mower County Fair draws to a close, we congratulate the Mower County Fair board on putting together yet another successful event for area residents. The fair board, along with Mower County officials, brought everything together in time for this year’s county-wide celebration, much to resident satisfaction.

The biggest story to come out of the fair, of course, is the brand-new, $700,000 grandstand, which was finished in the weeks before the fair opened. Fair officials had to put in temporary seating for grandstand events last year after safety inspectors condemned the old grandstand.

Through cooperation, planning and a timely donation from The Hormel Foundation, fair and county officials were able to get the old grandstand tore down and a new one built, no small feat when so many organizations need to be at the table to make decisions.

The new grandstand acts as a symbol of the county’s evolving nature; as we grow, so too will the fair. Thus, congratulations are in order for everyone who made this year’s fair possible.