OmahaChannel.com wrote:
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Nebraska State Fair is about to get a big infusion of cash, thanks to voters.
Amendment 4 passed by a 55 to 45 percent margin. It will put $2 million in lottery money into the fair each year.
On the heels of a 2004 fair that saw larger crowds and turned a $200,000 profit, fair organizers are excited about the future of a fair that was threatening to shut down just 12 months ago.
"(We're going to) offer more attractions, more exhibits, build on our 4-H and FFA, bring in some musical concerts," said Joe McDermott, the interim fair manager. "Now we have the funding, we have a new board and we need to start giving Nebraskans a reason to come to the State Fair."
The fair also wants to upgrade its facilities so they can be used year-round, creating another revenue source. But it won't happen overnight.
"We need to step back look at big picture and not rush into things," McDermott said.
The city of Lincoln will still need to come up with about $200,000 a year, and lawmakers will still have to approve any expenditure of this new money. Lincoln city officials say meeting the matching part of Amendment 4 will not be a problem.
Has anyone been to the fairgrounds they look absolutely horrible. They needed the money badly, I am on the fairgrounds almost daily and every building there needs work lets hope they spend this money wisely and either fix the buildings or tear them down and start over. Its much needed.
While its convenient to argue noone who voted against gambling can complain about government finances, there are many more reasons for high taxes, etc than a lack of gambling. I can, and will gripe all I want. The lottery is gambling, but its sure not a tacky building downtown. Every casino proposal was heading downtown, not in the higher traffic areas like the I-80 corridor.
Funding the fair is to education what funding the Solid Waste Landfill Closure Assistance Fund was to the environment. Funding for the SWLCAF in those 5 years averaged 3.6M/year, 1.5 times the amount from Amendment 4.
Ben Nelson could've funded the fair with the money we're spending on the nuke dump fine.
I haven't been to the state fair in 25 years(when I was in high school) and it was only once. I went with my parents and 5 brothers and sisters and was not impressed then. I remember walking around and smelling the pig |expletive| and riding a few of the lame rides thinking to myself we drove 1 hour for this? Never have been back and don't plan to.
