Talk:Iowa State Fair
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 | Iowa State Fair is currently a Culture, sociology and psychology good article nominee. Nominated by ActuallyElite (talk) at 15:15, 24 February 2026 (UTC) Any editor who has not nominated or contributed significantly to this article may review it according to the good article criteria to decide whether or not to list it as a good article. To start the review process, click start review and then save the page. See the good article instructions. Short description: Annual fair in Iowa |
 | Iowa State Fair was nominated as a Social sciences and society good article, but it did not meet the good article criteria at the time (February 8, 2026, reviewed version). There are suggestions on the review page for improving the article. If you can improve it, please do; it may then be renominated. |
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Comments
I have culled information from a number of sources to expand this stub. I've never edited in Wikipedia before, so please bear with me. I will be refining what I have collected and adding it shortly. Mrs. S.E.O. 22:16, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
I added some more information about the fair. I'm not sure about the truth of the facts that were previously in the article, (e.g., I can't find that Garth Brooks ever performed at the fair), but since I'm not sure, I didn't change anything that was there already. Mrs. S.E.O. 20:29, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
Garth Brooks played the Iowa State Fair as a replacement for Ricky Van Shelton in 1990 and returned in 1991 and 1993. This is according to the official Iowa State Fair Website. .
I added information about the 2007 Iowa State Fair. The image at the top should probably be changed to reflect the 2007 logo for the fair, but I don't know how to do images. I don't know if where I added the information was the right place to do so or not. Mrs. S.E.O. 19:34, 13 May 2007 (UTC)
Quintessential State Fair
What happenened to the section that spoke of the Fair's rich culture on a national scale? Apparently somebody ripped it out completely. The section stated its national significance, vast media attention and honors, and inspiration for the movie State Fair. Included was mention of being one of the 1,000 things to do before you die. Can this be restored? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.200.132.69 (talk) 18:20, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
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Advertisement
The article looks like an advertisement to me and it uses the official website too much, so I added Template:Advertisement and Template:Primary sources. JRStutler reverted this, so I think a consensus needs to be reached about it. The Attractions section is particularly bad, but everywhere needs a lot of work. I'm not saying the event isn't notable, but I do think it needs to be heavily rewritten. Quotes:
- ""Nothing Compares" to 11 days of food, fun and family!" in the intro
- "Since 1854, the Iowa State Fair has been entertaining Iowans on a yearly basis with only a few exceptions."
- The entire Attractions section, just look at it
- The unnecessarily long list of famous people in Concerts
It can all be rewritten, but before someone does any of that, consensus should be settled for whether it does actually look like an advertisement or not. –Ugncreative Usergname (talk) 15:46, 1 June 2013 (UTC)
A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 01:01, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
GA review
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
- This review is transcluded from Talk:Iowa State Fair/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
Nominator: ActuallyElite (talk · contribs) 16:15, 31 December 2025 (UTC)
Reviewer: Zzz plant (talk · contribs) 20:08, 8 February 2026 (UTC)
Hi ActuallyElite, unfortunately after reviewing this article against the GA criteria, I am going to close this nomination as a quick fail. My primary concern is criterion 2d, copyright compliance. Here are some examples of text overlap that I am concerned may represent close paraphrasing, which I noticed on a routine Earwig check:
| − | + | Article:In 1911, Machinery Hall, opened. It covers roughly 5 acres (2.0 ha) worth of land and cost $75,000 to build. It's intended to showcase wares from Iowa companies that would be particularly interesting to farm families. |
| − | + | Article:Bill Riley created the Iowa State Fair Talent Search in 1959. Riley hosted talent shows across the state, where local winners would go on to compete at the Fair. The stage was renamed to his name in 1996. |
| − | + | Article:In 1973, a group of Meskwaki singers and dancers performed nine out of the ten days of the fair after protesting for the chance to do so. In a 4-3 decision, the Iowa State Fair board granted the Meskwaki the opportunity to perform. |
Besides that, the article has significant prose issues, including grammar problems and non-encyclopedic tone. For example "the State Fair is known for its many different and wild dishes"
sounds more like text from a travel book than an encyclopedia. Additionally, "With over a million visitors, it is one of the largest and best-known state fairs in the United States."
from the lede should appear in the body with a strong reliable source. I also think you may need to reduce the reliance of the article on sources affiliated with the fair - you have some great ones here like Rasmussen 2015 and analytical pieces from reliable news outlets. I'd also recommend removing self-published references, like the Medium blog post for a historical claim.
Note that I did not evaluate the article exhaustively in complete detail, but I wanted to provide some specific feedback of what I noticed to help you prepare for a re-nomination. I'd be very happy to see this promoted eventually - it seems like a fascinating piece of Iowa history/culture - but for now, I think the article's development is best done outside the GA review spotlight. Best, Zzz plant (talk) 20:08, 8 February 2026 (UTC)