Central States Fair requests modest operating increase and flags $1M facility needs

Ron Jeff, general manager of the Central States Fair, told the Pennington County commission the fair operates leanly, leverages about $350,000 a year in sponsorships for maintenance work and is asking the county for a 2.5% increase to its annual allotment — a request that would raise the county contribution from the prior figure of $544,648 to about $558,264.

Jeff said the fair typically nets roughly $150,000 in a good year and reinvests that income into facilities, but identified several capital projects beyond the organization’s capacity: replacing aging batting insulation at the James Kirstad Event Center with spray‑foam and seal-coat work on parking lots. He said the spray‑foam conversion alone is roughly a $1 million project and will likely require bond financing or other large funding mechanisms.

Commissioners thanked fair staff, discussed timing and the county’s three‑year capital planning queue, and asked staff to coordinate multi‑year projections so the fair’s capital needs can be evaluated alongside other county priorities.

Quote attribution: Ron Jeff said the fair “has asked for a 2.5% increase to a total of 558,264.”