Some memories stick with you — like that August day around 1960 when my parents loaded my two brothers and me into our Dodge Coronet and headed to the Iowa State Fair for the first time. Our excitement rivaled that of Abel Frakes’ family in the famous “State Fair” movies.
The Frakeses celebrated during their time in Des Moines — with Abel winning the grand champion ribbon with Blue Boy, his prized pig, and Melissa’s mincemeat winning, too. But the Evanses’ excitement was cut short when torrential rains sent us scrambling for our car much earlier than planned.
For some Iowans, new rules for this year’s State Fair may remind us of a time in Iowa’s recent past that was far from joyful — when COVID turned our state and our institutions upside down.
This year’s State Fair and county fairs have new government rules to deal with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, a disease that has struck 13 Iowa dairy cattle herds this summer and three large commercial flocks of chickens and turkeys. Not surprisingly, experts at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the State Fair have made changes to some of the fair’s livestock shows and exhibits.
I certainly do not come today to criticize these actions, because dairy cattle and poultry are important in Iowa’s farm economy. But state government’s response to the avian influenza outbreak certainly is in marked contrast with the way the state responded to COVID, a people disease that killed 10,500 Iowans. At its peak, just over 100 of our friends, relatives and neighbors were dying from the disease each week.
The dairy cattle and poultry shows will go on as usual during the fair. But to minimize the danger of spreading avian influenza, the fair’s milking parlor will be closed, and the “I Milked a Cow” experience for visitors will not be held.
Also, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig issued an order in June requiring all dairy cattle exhibitors to submit evidence of additional testing on their livestock before the animals can be taken to the State Fair or any county fair.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza affects both wild and domestic bird populations, as well as lactating dairy cattle. Wild birds do not appear to become ill, but the disease often is fatal to domestic birds, including chickens and turkeys. Dairy cattle usually recover with proper care. Agriculture department officials have said there is no concern about human consumption of pasteurized milk or dairy products.
Naig said in a statement in June, “Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza isn’t just a poultry issue or a dairy issue. It’s an issue for all of agriculture.”
He added, “We want to strike a balance between allowing our 4‑H, FFA and dairy exhibitors the opportunity to show their animals, while also requiring additional testing to protect our livestock and minimize the potential spread of the virus.”
Dairy farms that do not take cattle to fairs are not subject to the mandatory testing, although Naig said he hopes these farms will participate voluntarily to help monitor the spread of the disease. The agriculture department order requires farms to report positive tests results to the state.
Most Iowans probably think Naig’s strategy and that of State Fair officials is reasonable. But this strategy — mandatory testing before dairy cattle can be taken to livestock shows — is not the approach Gov. Kim Reynolds took during the height of the COVID pandemic.
Back then, voluntary was her strategy of choice. Back then, most Iowa hospitals were full, but Reynolds bragged about her decision to order schools to return to in-person classes and her desire to “keep Iowa open for business.”
She celebrated the freedom of Iowans to go unmasked and unvaccinated to stores, schools and public events. “I’ve said all along, I’m going to put my trust in Iowans to do the right thing,” the governor said in early 2022.
“I believe the vaccine is the best defense against COVID-19, but I also firmly believe in Iowans’ right to make health care decisions based on what’s best for themselves and their families, and I remain committed to protecting those freedoms,” Reynolds said.
In contrast with Iowa’s COVID-fighting strategies, Minnesota and Wisconsin officials imposed tougher restrictions on their residents. Iowa came through the pandemic with a ratio of 315 deaths per 100,000 residents. Wisconsin’s rate was 259 deaths per 100,000 people. Minnesota’s was 239.
Those figures suggest that 2,350 Iowans could have been spared death if this state had followed Minnesota’s tougher strategy. But we did not.
But we ARE following a tougher strategy with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Draw your own conclusions.
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Randy Evans can be reached at DMRevans2810@gmail.com. Readers can offer their opinions through letters to the editor in the Bloomfield Democrat
