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State fair book showcases food department's role in Midwest culinary experience

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Talk of Iowa, hosted by Charity Nebbe

Iowans have been showing off their baking skills in stiff competitions since the early days of the Iowa State Fair.

Talk of Iowa host Charity Nebbe talks with two women who have long been involved in the fair's food contests, Kay Fenton Smith and Carol McGarvey. They collaborated to create the first comprehensive history of the fair's food competitions and memorable recipes in the book, Baking Blue Ribbons: Stories and Recipes from the Iowa State Fair Food Competitions.

Later in the hour, we'll travel to the fairgrounds to take a ride on the Skyglider with Tracy Shedd. Shedd has worked on the Sky Glider in some capacity for the last 50 years.

A portion of this episode was originally produced January 2, 2024.

Guests:

  • Kay Fenton Smith, co-author, fair exhibitor
  • Carol McGarvey, co-author, food judge
  • Tracy Shedd, ride manager, Owner and Operator of the Skyglider Aerial Tramway
Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa
Samantha McIntosh is a talk show producer at Iowa Public Radio. Prior to IPR, Samantha worked as a reporter for radio stations in southeast and west central Iowa under M&H Broadcasting, and before that she was a weekend music host for GO 96.3 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.