3/6/2025

IRONWOOD – The meeting of the Gogebic County Fair board on Monday was a busy one. This was the first committee meeting since the former Chair Linda Nelson had resigned on February 13. Her resignation was accepted by the County Board of Commissioners at their February 26 meeting. Vice-Chair Shelley Suckow led the meeting. The schedule and proposed events for this summer's Fair (presently scheduled August 7-10) were discussed. At the present there is a Rodeo scheduled for Sunday August 10. The committee discussed the various financial costs for the Rodeo and the budget for entertainment. At the present time there is no carnival that has been reserved for the fair and discussion was made over various alternatives including a circus, petting zoo and various areas to have activities for kids. County Commissioner Dan Wood asked to have another committee meeting in 2 weeks on March 17 after the Committee had an opportunity to ponder and explore some ideas, including cancelling the rodeo in lieu of other entertainment and also, look at the overall budget. There was concern that some of the buildings that were damaged in the fire would not be rebuilt or remodeled by the Fair in August which would limit some activities. Commissioner Joe Cayer said he would walk thru each building at the Fairgrounds to determine what space would be able to be used. He will bring that back to the Committee at the March 17 special meeting. It was also discussed if without a Carnival, the Fair should do its normal 4 days or, shorten it. Commissioners Wood and Cayer said a big focus should be on a “Grand Celebration” in 2026 when the Fairgrounds will all be completed with building remodeling and have top tier entertainment. The County Board of Commissioners has interviews scheduled for the Fair Coordinator position and Commissioner Wood said that “it is possible a Fair coordinator could be in place by the time of the next regular monthly Fair Committee meeting on April 7.”It was also noted that the reasons that the fire damaged buildings have not been rebuilt is due to lack of bids on the work. The County Board of Commissioners continues to post the projects to receive bids.