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Agriculture

Teddy bear adventure

DES MOINES - Clutier Cowboys and Cowgirls 4-H Club member Ava Monat (pictured) competed with her crossbred steer Teddy in the Beef of Merit Show on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines as the only participant from Tama County. Monat, who graduated from North Tama this past ...

Baby’s first pork chop on a stick

DES MOINES - Six-month-old Jarrett Volante of Clutier enjoyed his very first pork chop on a stick during the 2025 Iowa State Fair. Jarrett, the son of Josh and Megan Volante, munched on the perennially-popular fair fare in his “favorite place at the fair – the swine barn,” per Josh.

‘Hillbilly Bob’ makes inaugural state fair visit

DES MOINES - Bob Hill of rural Dysart made an inaugural official appearance at the Iowa State Fair this year as his longtime, beloved alter ego Hillbilly Bob/Farmer Bob along with his 1949 John Deere MT tractor ‘Johnny the World's Funniest Tractor.’ Per the Iowa State Fair website, ...

Blue ribbon for ‘Big Al’

DES MOINES - Faith Dvorak, a North Tama Class of 2025 alumna, represented her alma mater in the FFA Swine Show at the 2025 Iowa State Fair, earning a blue ribbon for her efforts alongside ‘Big Al.’ Dvorak heads to Hawkeye Community College this fall where she will be studying veterinary ...

State fair reunion

DES MOINES - Tama County Sheriff Casey Schmidt, right, and Iowa State Trooper Jared Rude pictured together at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 7. Trooper Rude used to live and work in Tama County back when he was assigned to Benton and Tama counties.

TF Clydesdales cart up awards

DES MOINES - TF Clydesdales, a fifth-generation family operation located in rural Gladbrook and owned by Becky and Steve Fevold along with their daughter and son-in-law Katie and Jake Bauer, competed in the Percheron, Clydesdale & Draft Pony Horse Show Aug. 14-17 at the Iowa State Fair, ...

Dieleman and Hosek awarded Tama SWCD scholarships

TOLEDO – Tama Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) is pleased to announce Abe Dieleman of rural Toledo and Ryan Hosek of rural Traer have been selected to each receive a $1,000 local college scholarship through the SWCD’s outreach programming. Dieleman is a Green ...

Tama County Fair hosts inaugural Bacon Buddies Show

GLADBROOK – The first annual Bacon Buddies Show at the Tama County Fair was held on Friday, July 18, at the fairgrounds in Gladbrook following the 4-H Swine Show with half a dozen buddies participanting. Bacon Buddies, now in its sixth year at the Iowa State Fair, “gives individuals ...

‘Batch and build’ project to start construction in Tama, Grundy counties

IOWA – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig recently announced construction is starting on a “batch and build” water quality project in Tama and Grundy Counties. This project, led by Heartland Co-op, will include the installation of 14 saturated buffers and four bioreactors. These ...

Fall Master Gardener volunteer orientation offered in Tama County

TOLEDO – The application window is open until Aug. 15 for this year’s fall Master Gardener training cohort, offered in Tama County. Iowans wishing to become a Master Gardener volunteer register with a local county extension office, complete the online Garden Academy Moodle course, and ...