The Iowa State Fair is a bit different this year. The Democratic presidential candidates have shown up and the Des Moines Register soapbox stage is busy.

We’ll be at the Indiana State Fair before the week is over. They honor a farmer every day at the fair.

There’s a new contaminant in western Lake Superior: Tiny snarls and threads of plastic. They say it exceeds what has been found in North Atlantic ocean.

In east central Illinois, the Half Century of Progress Show opens Aug. 22 and runs four days. There will be more than 2,000 pieces of old farm equipment there. Some will look better than the day it was made. Tractors have begun to arrive. Last year, one Wisconsin family brought 29 tractors and took home 31.