I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
July 29, 1996
By Devlyn Brooks
Staff Writer
The 1996 Beltrami County Fair will start a week later, running from July 31 to Aug. 4 instead of the usual last weekend in July, Fair Board member Ole Moe said.
"Last year's midway show just kind of fell apart," he said. So, the fair board had to book a new midway show but could only get them for the new weekend.
The new midway show, Gopher State shows, is not a newcomer to the Beltrami Fair, Moe said. It is the same midway show that set up for years at the old fairgrounds location, but it has never been booked to do the fair since it moved to the new location.
There will be no letdown in entertainment either, because most of the traditional fair favorites are back, and the Fair Board has booked some new acts as well.
The fair will kick off July 31 with a 7 p.m. gospel music concert in the grandstands, but the midway will not open until 1 p.m. the next day. Exhibit buildings and the commercial building will open 9-10 a.m.
One of the two biggest crowd pleasers, a monster truck show, will take center stage Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. Moe said the truck show and the demolition derby seem to be the most popular events every year. The derby will close the fair Aug. 4 at 7 p.m.
"We've had popular singers here, and no one will show up," Moe said. "Noise and dirt are what get the people in the grandstand."
A new event the Fair Board is excited about is the family variety show scheduled for Aug. 2 at 7 p.m., Moe said. This is the first year of the event, and organizers hope it goes well because they would like to see the event back next year.
"We're trying to make it like the Bemidji Ed Sullivan Show -- one act after another," event organizer Kevin Overbeek said, in an earlier interview. "If you didn't like that one, hang on, there's another, better one coming along for you."
Entertainment for Aug. 3 includes the start of the Bull-A-Rama rodeo at 7 p.m., which will start again Aug. 4 at 1:30 p.m. The demolition derby will start at 7 p.m. Aug. 4, also. In the horse arena, there will be horse-riding demonstrations sponsored by the Bemidji North Star Riders and the Blazing Saddles club all day on Aug. 4.
The Heritage Square will feature a number of free demonstrations and entertainment acts throughout the fair, including cheese, soap and basket making demonstrations, a barbershop quartet, bluegrass music and horse-drawn field work demonstrations.
Of course, Moe said, there is always the fair food that people come for, but there will be a few less food stands this year. Due to the change in the scheduled dates of the fair, some of the food stands have other commitments for that weekend. One new treat will be a stand serving ostrich burgers.
After a four-year hiatus, Jaycee-sponsored bingo will be back at the fair. It will be taking place next to the Jaycee tent. The fair had bingo in 1992 when it first moved to the new fairgrounds, but since then, there was no place to hold it.
"I have a lot of people tell me they would come to the fair if they could play bingo," Moe said. "So, we'll see."
Other attractions will include the commercial booths in the exhibit buildings; the Sunnyside School will be open for tours; a pen of locally raised emus will be in the sheep building; there will be a children's corner full of baby animals in the dairy barn; a pond in which baby waterfowl will be swimming in will be set up; and area teams will participate in a weekend volleyball tournament.
The Beltrami County Fairgrounds are located three miles north on new Highway 71. There are no parking fees or gat admissions during the four-day event.
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