STACEY. THANK YOU. AMANDA. THE 2025 IOWA STATE FAIR HAS OFFICIALLY WRAPPED, AND THE FINAL ATTENDANCE NUMBERS ARE IN A WHOPPING 1.16 MILLION PEOPLE CAME TO THE STATE FAIR THIS YEAR. LAST YEAR SAW RECORD BREAKING ATTENDANCE FOR THE FAIR. THIS YEAR’S TURNOUT WAS THE THIRD HIGHEST IN HISTORY. THE FAIR WAS JUST SO CLOSE. JUST 20,000 PEOPLE SHY OF BREAKING THAT ATTENDANCE RECORD. vlog BEAU BOWMAN IS AT THE FAIRGROUNDS FOR US THIS EVENING TO GIVE US A LOOK AT HOW THEY WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN SUCH HIGH NUMBERS, DESPITE SOME CHALLENGING WEATHER. DESPITE THE RAIN, HEAT AND HUMIDITY, THE 2020 FAIR WAS STILL THE THIRD MOST ATTENDED ON RECORD. FOOD VENDORS ARE CLEANING UP AND SHIPPING OUT. THE FAIR IS OVER. IT’S SAD, BUT IT’S. IT’S READY TO GET OVER AND EXHAUSTED. WHEN? WHEN WAS THE FAIR’S BIG WINNER? WITH THE FAIR’S BEST NEW FOOD? THE CHICKEN BACON RANCH EGG ROLLS. HE SPENT THE LAST 11 DAYS WORKING OVER A HOT DEEP FRYER. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY EGG ROLLS YOU DID? NO, I REALLY HAVE NO CLUE. TWO NEW ADDITIONS THIS YEAR LED TO THE FAIR SUCCESS. DESPITE RAINY AND HOT WEATHER. ACCORDING TO FAIR CEO JEREMY PARSONS, MORE SEATING AND THE ABILITY TO BRING IN OUTSIDE FOOD AND DRINK WITH THE WEATHER. YOU KNOW, BEING FOR PEOPLE, BEING ABLE TO BRING IN THEIR OWN FOOD AND BEVERAGE WAS WAS TREMENDOUS. I’M SURE WAS A HUGE HELP. AGAIN, KNOWING WE’VE JUST ADDED MORE PICNIC TABLES AND REALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF MORE OF THE NATURAL NATURAL SHADE AND THEN CREATED ARTIFICIAL SHADE. I KNOW MADE THE EXPERIENCE BETTER ON THOSE REALLY, REALLY HOT DAYS. AND WHILE THE FAIR DIDN’T BREAK THE ATTENDANCE RECORD, THEY DID BREAK RECORDS AT THE GRANDSTAND CONCERTS, BOTH IN TICKET SALES AND IN MERCHANDISE. THAT SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT PIT, MEGAN MORONEY, FORREST FRANK, T-PAIN, FOUR ACTS THAT REALLY DON’T HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON MUSICALLY. BUT YET WE’RE FOUR OF THE HIGHEST ATTENDED CONCERTS. PARSONS SAYS NEXT YEAR, THEY’RE ALREADY LOOKING AT WAYS TO MAKE IT EASIER TO GET TO THE FAIR, WHETHER THAT’S TRAFFIC PATTERNS AROUND THE FAIRGROUNDS. WE’LL BE WORKING WITH THE CITY OF DES MOINES AND DES MOINES PD. ONLY 359 DAYS TO GO UNTIL THE 2026 IOWA STATE FAIR. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. AUGUST 13TH THROUGH THE 23RD AT THE IOWA STATE FAIR. BEAU BOWMAN vlog EIGHT NEWS. IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. AND TODAY TEN IOWA STATE FAIR VENDORS DONATED THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF LEFTOVER FOOD TO THE FOOD BANK OF IOWA. TOGETHER, THESE VENDORS DONATED ALMOST 6,000 POUNDS OF FOOD. THAT’S ON TOP OF THE FOOD PEOPLE DONATED AT THE FAIR ON SUNDAY. THE FOOD BANK OF IOWA HAS BEEN RESCUING UNSOLD FOOD SINCE 2018. THE USDA ESTIMATES UP TO 40% OF THE U.S
Which records were broken at the Iowa State Fair this year?
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Updated: 7:46 PM CDT Aug 18, 2025
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The 2025 Iowa State Fair has officially wrapped up, closing its gates Sunday night at 9 p.m. Despite challenging weather conditions, the fair managed to draw impressive crowds, falling just 20,000 attendees short of breaking the all-time attendance record.This year’s fair ranks as the third most attended in its history.On Monday, food vendors were busy cleaning up and packing away their equipment as the fairgrounds emptied. Among them was Winn Nguyen, who earned the title of best new fair food with his chicken bacon ranch eggrolls. Nguyen spent the fair’s 11 days tirelessly working over a hot deep fryer.When asked how many eggrolls he made, Nguyen said, “I really have no clue.”» See all of our Iowa State Fair coverage here.At JR's SouthPork Ranch, owner Brooks Reynolds said they'll be deep cleaning the structure over the next week. He said they went through about 4,000 pounds of lobster over the last 11 days. That includes the notable High Roller Package, which comes with lobster rolls topped with caviar, edible gold leaf and a bottle of top-shelf champagne.Reynolds said they sold 18 High Rollers. Fair CEO Jeremy Parsons credited two new additions for helping maintain high attendance despite the rain, heat, and humidity: more seating and the option for visitors to bring in their own food and drinks.“With the weather, for people to be able to bring in their own food and beverage was tremendous,” Parsons said. “Knowing we added more picnic tables and took advantage of natural shade, as well as creating artificial shade, made the experience better on those really, really hot days.”While the overall attendance record wasn’t broken, the fair did set new records for grandstand concerts, both in ticket sales and merchandise. Acts like Pitbull, Megan Moroney, Forest Frank and T-Pain drew massive crowds.“That speaks to the fact that when you look at Pitbull, Megan Moroney, Forest Frank, T-Pain — four acts that really don’t have anything in common musically — they were four of the highest-attended concerts,” Parsons said.Forest Frank broke merchandise sales records with $160,000 in sales on the first Thursday, before Megan Moroney topped the Christian artist, with $460,000 in merch sales just two days later. Looking ahead to 2026, Parsons hinted at plans to improve access to the fairgrounds, including potential changes to traffic patterns in collaboration with the city of Des Moines and the Des Moines Police Department.The 2026 Iowa State Fair is set for Aug. 13-23. Only 359 days to go!» Subscribe to vlog's YouTube page» Download the free vlog app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
DES MOINES, Iowa — The 2025 Iowa State Fair has officially wrapped up, closing its gates Sunday night at 9 p.m. Despite challenging weather conditions, the fair managed to draw impressive crowds, falling just 20,000 attendees short of breaking the all-time attendance record.
This year’s fair ranks as the third most attended in its history.
On Monday, food vendors were busy cleaning up and packing away their equipment as the fairgrounds emptied. Among them was Winn Nguyen, who earned the title of best new fair food with his chicken bacon ranch eggrolls. Nguyen spent the fair’s 11 days tirelessly working over a hot deep fryer.
When asked how many eggrolls he made, Nguyen said, “I really have no clue.”
» See all of our Iowa State Fair coverage here.
At JR's SouthPork Ranch, owner Brooks Reynolds said they'll be deep cleaning the structure over the next week. He said they went through about 4,000 pounds of lobster over the last 11 days. That includes the notable High Roller Package, which comes with lobster rolls topped with caviar, edible gold leaf and a bottle of top-shelf champagne.
Reynolds said they sold 18 High Rollers.
Fair CEO Jeremy Parsons credited two new additions for helping maintain high attendance despite the rain, heat, and humidity: more seating and the option for visitors to bring in their own food and drinks.
“With the weather, for people to be able to bring in their own food and beverage was tremendous,” Parsons said. “Knowing we added more picnic tables and took advantage of natural shade, as well as creating artificial shade, made the experience better on those really, really hot days.”
While the overall attendance record wasn’t broken, the fair did set new records for grandstand concerts, both in ticket sales and merchandise. Acts like Pitbull, Megan Moroney, Forest Frank and T-Pain drew massive crowds.
“That speaks to the fact that when you look at Pitbull, Megan Moroney, Forest Frank, T-Pain — four acts that really don’t have anything in common musically — they were four of the highest-attended concerts,” Parsons said.
Forest Frank broke merchandise sales records with $160,000 in sales on the first Thursday, before Megan Moroney topped the Christian artist, with $460,000 in merch sales just two days later.
Looking ahead to 2026, Parsons hinted at plans to improve access to the fairgrounds, including potential changes to traffic patterns in collaboration with the city of Des Moines and the Des Moines Police Department.
The 2026 Iowa State Fair is set for Aug. 13-23. Only 359 days to go!
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