I'm no state fair expert but all in Iowa know about the butter cow, though I'd guess the darn thing at more than 150#. This year there's not only a cow shaped pile of butter but also a Harry Potter shaped pile of butter. Only know b/c this is the kind of thing that gets plastered all over our news... It's Art! It's also a very popular photo op for the roving band of politicians. The original artist retired a year or two ago and her apprentice now does the sculpting. I imagine one of the dairys around here sponsors it but not sure. Remsen has long sports history from NW Iowa. Catholic school there (Remsen St. Marys) has a big trophy case. I've not been in Remsen. Wife and I had season tix at UofI during lean 70's and into Hayden Fry's great 80's era teams. Evy's era is legendary in Iowa City and there are still stories being told from Alex Karras' occupation. Predates me by a bit but Evy is held in high regard on east side of the state.

Back to politics for one quote... Heard saying the other day that's applicable. Goes something like this: "The water will never run clear 'til all the hogs are out of the river." Literally, this speaks to the continued demise of streams in this state but the analogy to politics is just as real.