Constant Conservative

Before my wife’s grandfather passed away, he was a walking history of this part of South Dakota. His recollections of the South Dakota State Fair were many and varied. The one I remember best is his telling of catching the train in Monroe, riding through his farm on the way to Huron, spending the day at the fair and then catching a train back to Monroe before walking back out to the farm a couple miles from town. If I recall correctly, he paid somewhere between 50 cents and $1 for a round trip on the rail.

Like Grandpa, those days are gone. With changes in agriculture and culture in general, the state fair no longer serves the purpose it once did. There are several county fairs in the state as well as other events like DakotaFest that have taken the place of the state fair.

Those who wish to keep the state fair have stated their position on the matter:

Supporters of the State Fair say the state should continue to subsidize the annual event in Huron because it is important to South Dakota’s quality of life.

I’m sorry, but quality of life is not something which the state of South Dakota should be either defining or funding. That is not the legitimate function of a government.

If the fair cannot support itself, that tells me that the market has moved on and is now interested in other things. It is time for the rest of us to recognize this and either let the fair go the way of the railroad which used to run through Monroe or convince the market that it needs what the fair provides.