HURON – Dusty Anderson of Yankton and Faron Wahl of Sioux Falls were re-elected chair and vice chair, respectively, of the South Dakota State Fair Commission on Tuesday.
Commissioners heard updates on a new gate ticketing system, a golf cart patrol program and upcoming off-season events as well as planned maintenance and repair projects on the fairgrounds.
Huron will once again host the National Junior High Finals Rodeo this June, but efforts to secure the 2026-2027 and/or 2028-2029 events were unsuccessful.
State Fair Manager Peggy Besch and Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau President and Chief Executive Officer Laurie Shelton submitted bids on behalf of the city at the rodeo association’s mid-winter meeting in Salt Lake City. But Huron and other communities lost out to Gillette, Wyo., and the American Royal in a new home in Wyandotte County, Kan.
“Initially we were feeling pretty good about it because we did such a great job of hosting it here (in 2018) and have heard nothing but positives from all over the place,” Besch said.
But the winning bidders had the advantage of new and upgraded facilities, including a $160 million indoor arena where inclement weather won’t be a factor.
“I don’t know that we’ll ever bid it again, quite honestly, because we can’t compete with the amenities that some of those facilities offer,” Besch told fair commissioners.
On a light note, she said they borrowed a line from the rodeo association’s own mission statement – that their desire is to uphold the rodeo tradition. “Rodeo tradition is not indoors,” Besch said with a laugh. “Didn’t work obviously.”
While the fairgrounds won’t be hosting the national rodeo finals after this year, there are still plenty of events for the public to enjoy there.
“Between now and fair, we only have eight weekends where there isn’t something going on,” Besch said.

The Nordby Exhibit Hall is being used more and more often, particularly for such happenings as graduation and wedding receptions.
Logistical planning is also well underway for this year’s edition of Wheel Jam, held in late May and the first weekend in June in conjunction with the Original South Dakota BBQ Championships.
“It will be interesting this year because we don’t have any races, so we’re not really sure how that’s going to impact the numbers,” Besch said.
However, there will be new entertainment, including a fight night and a cover band from Chicago.
Meanwhile, commissioners were briefed on a new Etix ticketing system to be implemented this year involving a scanner and, for the most part, hand stamps rather than wristbands.
State Fair staff has been consulting with their counterparts in North Dakota to learn how it could work here. Initially, it will be used for pedestrian gate admission and possibly for parking at some point.
“We had a long conversation with the North Dakota State Fair and they use the same system,” Besch said. “And I think after we had that conversation with them we felt a little better about moving forward.”
The intent is to eliminate some of the fraud, she said.
“We’re doing this to try and cut down on people that might alter their wristband in some fashion,” she said.
She said they have also talked about manning the gates starting at 6 a.m., an hour earlier than past years, to catch people who come in with their feed and unloading pass and never leave the grounds. The system could also reduce waiting times at the gates, she said.
A golf cart patrol will be implemented this year to police and identify those who are violating rules on the fairgrounds. Officers will try to photograph the violations and initially give a verbal warning. If there is a second violation, the person will lose the right to use the golf cart. Officers will hand out information about the rules when individuals check out a golf cart.
“This is our first step to see how this goes,” Besch said. “Hopefully, it will be an improvement.”
The fair has received permission to park livestock trailers once again at Huron Continental Marketing (formerly Bales) west of town.
That will open up more space at the former concrete plant site just southeast of the fairgrounds. Besch said they’re going to look at running an eight-seat golf cart between there and the fairgrounds.
When warmer weather arrives, work will resume on phase three of the Grandstand improvement project, which includes reconfiguring the top side of the facility with six-foot stair walkways and landings, new aluminum handrails and guardrails and an Americans with Disabilities Act seating ramp.
Other work will include cleaning and painting the canopy and support structure and new safety lighting.
Also scheduled this year are window replacement and bathroom repairs in the Family Living Center, an electrical service study, design work for asphalt replacement on the Independent Midway and a campus-wide speaker alert system.