Northwest Iowa (Radio Iowa) — A new state law designed to protect Iowa’s county fairs and the state fair from lawsuits about contagious diseases isn’t just about the animals catching illnesses like the bird flu. In other parts of the country lawsuits have been filed after visitors to animal exhibits contracted e-coli infections.
Tom Barnes, spokesman for the Association of Iowa Fairs, says the law requires signs on the fairgrounds that warn against touching the animals and encourage fair-goers to frequently wash their hands to prevent the spread of disease.
The signs also must warn against bringing food into livestock areas.
The law, which took effect July 1st, also spells out requirements for properly cleaning livestock areas before and after the fair.
In our area the Osceola County Fair wrapped up its 2017 run this past weekend, the Sioux County Fair ended Monday, and the last day for the Lyon County Fair was Thursday (July 20th). The O’Brien County Fair will open this Saturday (July 22nd) and run through Thursday the 27th. The other BIG area fair is the Clay County Fair, which will run from September 9th through the 17th in Spencer.
