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Local historian: Expo Park name should remain

To the editor:

Our City Council is once again assaulting Fort Dodge’s proud heritage in an effort to destroy the memory of one of our town’s most iconic institutions. Exposition Park was home to the Hawkeye Fair, which for more than a decade rivaled the Iowa State Fair in stature and attendance.

Expo Park exhibited an incredible array of entertainment venues enjoyed by people from Iowa and the entire Midwest: a grandstand capacity of at least 7,000 horse/harness racing, cabins, campground, several show barns, a large Ferris wheel, roller coaster, and more. It was at the heart of our community when our town was thriving, thanks to progressive positive leadership.

A temporary set of uninformed and culturally insensitive council members should not be allowed to deprive current and future Fort Dodgers of the memory of one of its fondest and most successful institutions.

The name of Expo Park should not be erased from history. A senseless tragedy does not warrant a senseless shortsighted reaction.

Alan F. Nelson

Fort Dodge

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