The 2020 Iowa State Fair has been canceled due to the pandemic. The Fair Board voted 11-to-two to make the decision. Iowa State Fair Manager and C-E-O Gary Slater was directed by the Fair Board to work up a plan for a potential event the state fairgrounds in August, for 4-H and F-F-A members to show their livestock. Slater says he and his staff will meet over the next couple of days to evaluate the financial implications and the health precautions they’d have to take.

The cancellation of the Minnesota and Wisconsin State Fairs had no bearing on the Iowa State Fair’s cancellation, according to Slater.

This is the first time since World War II that the Iowa State Fair been canceled. The 11-day event bills itself as the state’s largest tourist attraction and has been drawing more than a million visitors annually since 2002.