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June 10, 2020Des Moines, Iowa |  By: AP

No butter cow this summer as Iowa State Fair canceled

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Hold the pork chop on a stick and get a butter cow rain check. This summer's Iowa State Fair was canceled Wednesday due to concerns about the coronavirus, marking the first time since World War II that the annual gathering won't be held in Des Moines.

Without comment, the state fair board voted 11-2 to cancel the fair, which typically caps an Iowa summer with an 11-day run in mid-August. 

The fair is the biggest attraction in Iowa, typically drawing more than 1 million visitors who check out the butter cow, buy countless kinds of food typically skewered with a stick and stroll through 445 acres of barns, carnival attractions and even a campground. Officials in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Indiana also have canceled their fairs.