On July 7th, five young ladies, dressed in beautiful gowns, stood on the stage at the Monona County Fair hoping to become part of the royalty to reign over the fair activities throughout the week. Three of these ladies attend school at MVAOCOU High School. Three of the five would be named to the royalty. What are the chances that the three Rams will all be chosen for a title?
    Well, it turns out the chances were good.
    Claire Smallwood, daughter of Katrina and Shane Smallwood of Mapleton was crowned the Monona County Fair Queen.
    "I was super nervous; I thought for sure that I didn't get anything," exclaimed Claire who will be a senior at MVAOCOU this coming school year. "I thought it was really cool that we were all Rams!"
    Along with enjoying the fair in a crown and sash, being queen came with other responsibilities around the fair.
    "I had to help with different activities around the fair, and I also helped with the animal shows that I didn't have to show in," she explained.
    While Claire spent the week handing out awards and showing her own animals, she stated that her favorite part of the fair was the people.
    "My favorite part was talking to the fair community," she said. "I had a lot of people come up to me that I never met before, so it was a really cool experience to meet new people!"
    Before Claire received her royalty gear, Jenna Rosener, daughter of Angie and John Rosener of Mapleton was crowned first runner up and given her crown and sash. Along with her and her fellow royalty all going to the same school, she pointed another commonality between the three ladies.
    "I was thrilled to be a part of the court." said Jenna, a junior this coming school year. "I thought it was neat that all three of us that got on court attend MVAOCOU High School and that we're all in FFA."
    Jenna also joined Claire with additional jobs during the fair.
    "Throughout the week, I handed out ribbons and trophies at all of the animal shows, participated in the watermelon eating contest, got interviewed by KDSN radio, and attended all of the evening grandstand events," she said. "My sister Sara and I sang "The National Anthem" prior to Friday night's demo derby. The court and I also got to ride in convertibles for the parade on Sunday."
    Haley Jensen, daughter of Sheri and David Jenson of Castana and also a junior this coming school year, received the Miss Congeniality sash during the coronation. This was not the first time she received this honor.
    "The thought going through my head when I was named Miss Congeniality was how excited I was to have the same title I had when I was a little girl," proclaimed Haley who was named the Little Princess Congeniality in 2018.
    Haley joined Claire and Jenna in the royalty spotlight throughout the fair.
    "The special duties I had during fair because of my Miss Congeniality status was attending all the shows and handing out ribbons and trophies," she said. "I also had to attend all the events at night to ride in the beginning of them."
    Claire will represent Monona County at the state fair with a hope to be named the state fair queen. Good luck to her!
    Congratulations to all of the ladies.

    The city of Danbury had non-residents coming and going throughout Friday and Saturday. Some visited the town to check out BlueJay Boutique's sidewalk sale. Some came to get bargains at garage sales. Some did both.
    Along with shoppers beating the heat in summer attire, one shopper looking for plush reindeer stood out in his RAGBRAI shirt, bike shorts, and helmet with rearview mirror. His bike, adorned with plush reindeer, a plush dinosaur, and badges from RAGBRAI history also stood out amongst the cars which stopped on this day.
    Triss Ness from Chester, IA, lives practically on the Iowa-Minnesota border. Chester is a small town housing around 200 people less than Danbury homes. It can be found south of Rochester, MN. It is safe to say that Chester is in northeast Iowa.
    Triss has participated in RAGBRAI for the past 5 years, and he was on his way to Onawa, the starting point for the great bike ride across Iowa. Instead of arriving with support people and his bike on a trailer, he packs his bike with around 50 pounds of necessities along with plush mascots and bikes his way across Iowa. He then rides the RAGBRAI route which ends in Dubuque this year, and finally he bikes back home. For this adventure, Triss will be logging around 280 miles to Onawa, 391 during the actual annual event, and then another 162 miles home for a grand total of 833 miles on the bike.
    Along with enjoying the scenery and conquering the weather which has been beastly hot lately, Triss loves to check out local museums on his route and look at antique tractors. In his non-biking life, he works at threshing shows, helping older visitors possibly relive their threshing days, and helping younger visitors see how farming was done back in the good ole days. He has a natural interest in all things historical.
    Triss had multiple stories from his previous RAGBRAI years to share. A notable story which can be published had to do with a traffic cone which he found in a ditch near Armstrong. He decided to deck out the bike with said cone. By the time he made it to the end of the route, the traffic cone was no longer orange on the outside as it was plastered with stickers.
    During his brief visit to Danbury, he handed tiny resin ducks out and explained that he hands these ducks out to fellow RAGBRAI bikers each year. These ducks have gone home in the past with Germans and Australians and throughout the United States. They are a great conversation starter. Triss, a Wisconsin native, enjoys talking to the local people and learning about Iowa.
    Before Triss took off for his final leg of the trip to Onawa, his bike's plush companions were decked out with garage sale goods, boas to give them a colorful, partying memory of Danbury as they trekked back to Eastern Iowa. Hopefully they have a great ride to the Mississippi River.

    St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Mapleton is going Italian on Sunday with a spaghetti supper from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m. The church will be serving carry out meals of spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread. The meal is $12 each. Please pick up on the west side of the church.
    The meal is sponsored by the Outreadh Board. Proceeds will go towards the church's 125th celebration.

    Have you ever dreamed of learning how to make balloon animals? Cord Memorial Library can make your dream come true.
    On Wednesday, July 29th at 1:30 p.m., Sara will be visiting Cord Memorial Library to create balloon animals. But, there is a bit more than just giving out animals. Sara will be teaching children of all ages (even children who qualify as adults) how to make balloon animals. There will also be a musical magical show!
    Please join us for an afternoon of balloontastic fun.