FORT MADISON - The 74th year of the Tri-State Rodeo kicks off Saturday with some pancakes and some pretty special kids playing in the dirt.
The 2022 edition of the rodeo that started in 1948 when C.E. "Eddie" Richards transitioned a stockade into a rodeo, features some changes, but brings more of the energy and passion for rodeo action visitors and locals alike have come to enjoy for more than seven decades.
General Chairman Tony Johnson said tickets have been selling very well for all days with all VIP seating completely sold out.
However, rodeo tickets are still available for all nights of activity.
Johnson is in his last year as chairman. The position is usually for three years, but Johnson got a rare fourth when the 2020 rodeo was canceled just 20 days before Rodeo Week due to the pandemic.
"This is bittersweet for me for sure," Johnson said from his office at WM Johnson Trucking Friday morning. "I got a fourth year because the board thought it would be fair for me to have one more after we pulled the plug during COVID."
"It's a lot of fun. It's a great thing to be a part of but it's extremly time consuming and I'm ready to turn the reins over. But I will still be a part of it going forward, obviously."
One of 2022's biggest changes has been the new VIP expansion created with Baxter Construction. Johnson said it has been time consuming and they were up against some deadlines, but even with welding being done Friday morning on some platforms, Johnson was confident the facility would be ready for action.
"The new VIP expansion has been really time consuming. Baxter Construction was the general contractor on that. We worked with a lot of other local contractors and I was pretty adamant about that," he said.
"There's been such a demand for that VIP experience and we didn't have enough of that space. The newer VIP seating was built under Bob Huffman's leadership and we were worried that we wouldn't be able to sell it out, but we sold it out the first year.
"So we immediately began conversations of "What can we do next". We came up with this idea to accomodate a different atmosphere for people. That started in 2020 and then in 2021 we sat down with the general contractor."
Phase 1 of the work included moving the sound and video "Crows Nest" to the east side of the stadium so that the expanded VIP section could be built on the northwest corner.
Johnson said Seither and Cherry, Mohrfeld Electric, Baxter Construction, Huffman Welding, Brockway Co. and 5-star Drywall were the local contractors used in the expansion.
He said the improvement will add about 110 seats to the arena.
"It's a party deck on the second level and the third level is bar level with a suite mentality where we'll use some crowd barriers. All those tickets are all-inclusive with the Gold Buckle Club. There are five 85" television that will livestream the rodeo and play some other local sports of interest," he said.
The first level provides the best rodeo viewing of the arena, and quite possibly a unique amenity that would rival other larger rodeo arenas indoor and outdoor when it comes to visuals.
Johnson said the idea of the expansion, as with all other ideas including pyrotechnics, video, sound, amenities, are all produced by the ideas brought by the Rodeo Committee.
"That's the reason were so successful. We've got businesses and rodeo people on the committee and it's a nice mix and we come together with great ideas,' he said.
"Many times we've been voted the Great Lakes Circuit Rodeo of the year and that comes from our facilities to the amenities we offer. And I like to think we're second to none. We're just as good as anyone else, in my opinion."
Johnson said the popular CINCH Chute-Out is in it's last contract year with CINCH, a popular western clothier out of Denver, Colo. But he said the rodeo committtee wants to see that Wednesday format continue.
"One way or another, I think we need to keep that format. Hopefully Cinch stays on board after this year. We'll see. Those conversations will be had after this year's rodeo," he said.
The Chute-Out is a categorical winner-take all format that brings some of the best cowboys in the world to Southeast Iowa for prize money.
The rodeo starts with the Saturday pancake breakfast, the Rodeo 5K Run and Special Kids Day at the Rodeo. A complete calendar of the 2022 Tri State Rodeo can be found in the break out box.
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