HURON — South Dakota State Fair commissioners welcomed Amanda Stade of Brookings as the newest member of the board at their Tuesday meeting.
Stade succeeds Peter Nielson of Brookings who resigned in May. Board member Dick Shelton of Huron also resigned, and his replacement will also be appointed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard.
Commissioners spent the afternoon ironing out many of the details heading into the State Fair, which opens Aug. 30.
They also heard a report on the recently completed Wheel Jam and National Junior High Finals Rodeo.
Planning continues on the 100th celebration of the Grandstand at this year’s fair. Fireworks will be included along with a special video commemorating the milestone, with comments from past State Fair officials and staff.
Commissioners believe the video will capture the essence of the celebration.
State Fair Manager Peggy Besch updated the board on the status of the wine pavilion. At the May meeting, she reported that the South Dakota Wine Growers Association has dissolved. A federal grant has been secured to continue the pavilion, but funds won’t be available until the 2019 fair.

Two local individuals involved with the pavilion for years have been hired to manage it.
An ongoing controversy at the fair deals with the golf carts. All of the carts have been sold out for this year’s fair, and Besch said the office has been receiving complaints from callers who want to rent them.
But complaints have also been lodged when the board increases the number of golf carts available for rent. This year, the number has been reduced by 50.
It’s a situation that has no easy answer, she said.
“The fair is the only fair that I know of across the country that allows golf carts,” Besch said.
In talking with fair officials in other states, she said they express amazement and even horror that South Dakota allows them because of insurance issues.
Meanwhile, commissioners learned that this year’s Bob Duxbury Award will be presented on Saturday, Sept. 1 at about 3:50 p.m. on the Freedom States just before the Williams & Ree performance.
Duxbury served as chairman of the State Fair board and as secretary of agriculture. The award recognizes those who give years of service benefiting the fair.
It’s an election year, and political debates will return to the fair. Congressional candidates Dusty Johnson and Tim Bjorkman will take the stage at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 2, and gubernatorial candidates, state Sen. Billie Sutton and Rep. Kristi Noem, will follow at 3 p.m.
Huron will once again host the National Junior High Finals Rodeo in June 2019. Its initial run last month went well.
“It was a great success,” Besch said. “It definitely took the community and those outside the community to pull it off. We learned a lot.”
The check-in process and parking the big rigs in the campgrounds were challenges, especially in the middle of the night and in working to keep all of the campers together according to state, she said.
“Aside from that, it went pretty well,” she said.
Commissioners also heard an update on ongoing maintenance and repair projects on the fairgrounds, including sandblasting, painting and handrail installation work at the Grandstand and electrical work at the Open Class Beef Complex.