Well, another edition of the Faribault County Fair is now over and into the record books.

I thought it was another good one. And I should know. The news staff here at the Register spends a whole lot of time at the fair, mainly taking photos.

Lots and Lots of photos. Hundreds of photos. You can see the results of our efforts elsewhere in this issue of the Register. It is a sampling of what we feel are the best pictures, and also a good variety of pictures, that we took this year.

Of course, it is just a small sampling of all the pictures we took. We spend a lot of time paring them down to a usable number. Our aim is to give you a feeling of what all went on at the fair this year, just in case you did not get there.

I heard some grumblings about the fair, mainly from some folks who were not even going to attend the fair. They mentioned things like there not being a carnival, no Flea JUNKtion, no tractor pull or demo derby.

That is all true. But fairs, like anything else, evolve. It is not always the same. I am sure the fair is a whole lot different now than it was 20 years ago, or 100 years ago or 150 years ago.

This year there were huge inflatables and a really cool dinosaur experience for kids. There were several little stages around the grounds with interesting acts. And there were food trucks to feed the hungry. I try to hit a different food place each day I am there, but this year I went to the Trinity Food Stand three times and did Mexican only once. And of course, mini-donuts and the malt place and the 4-H Food building.

Yeah, I eat at the fair, when the fair is on. Don’t you?

You can tell from our ‘music at the fair’ picture page that there was a whole lot of entertainment at the fair, including some local area bands. They were all very good.

And if you have never visited History Lane at the fairgrounds during the fair, you have really missed out. It is a very interesting place.

And 4-H and local FFA kids have lots of animals and seem to have something going on each day during the fair. And then there are the different things. You know, like cribbage and jigsaw puzzle contests.

So, was there as much going on at the fair this year as in the past? Maybe, maybe not. But as our photos in this issue (and last week’s issue also) show, there sure seemed to be a whole lot going on for us to take a picture (or two or three or a hundred) of.

So, my question to you is, did you go to this year’s Faribault County Fair? You can answer that question by going to our website and taking this week’s poll question which is also listed elsewhere on this page. I hope your answer is yes.

Of course, some photos of the fair are not the only thing about the fair in this issue of the Register. There is also a story about the fair board being sued for violating the Open Meeting Law. It was recently determined that they have.

While they post their meetings and have them open to the public, it is the meetings they have during the fair that are in question.

When I heard about this lawsuit, I checked with our Minnesota Newspaper Association attorney, an expert in the OML, Mark Anfinson, and he reported that, in his opinion, they were under the OML and they had, indeed, violated it. It is a difficult situation for them because they meet at the fair, during the fair, as a full fair board.

Now, yes, they can do that, but they have to follow the law when they do it.

As far as the Register staff is concerned, we are headed to Frost Fest, Relay for Life and Wells Kernel Days next. I hear they are going to have some good food there to try…

Maybe we will see you there.