The Knox County Fair wrapped up this past weekend and we got a chance to talk to Kurt Bechtel, the Fair Board President and Ken Boeshart who was the treasurer at the Knox County Fair. Click here to listen to their interviews.

Today is Chris Tomlin’s concert at the Ohio State Fair so if you are going down there, make sure you stop by Big Blue because Joe Rinehart, Kelsey Bryte, Wesley Boston and Annabelle Harray will bring us highlights from the Fair from Noon–2 p.m. and 4–6 p.m. Plus you can also register to win a great prize basket!

AP has announced that they are going to make 1 million minutes of historical footage that will be available on YouTube.  There will be 550,000 video stories. So make sure to check out this link for more information about it.

Also we talked about 5 ways to  protect your memory from Alzheimer’s and the different ways you can stimulate your brain. For the 5 ways click here.

2015 Junior Fair Results

The 2015 Knox County Junior Fair Sales brought in a total of $646,255.56 (includes Dairy Product)

• That is a decrease of $54,922.49 from 2014, but a major increase ($85,426.66) from 2013.
• Dairy Product brought in $4,005.
• Sale of Champions (including the Dairy Product) total was $79,259.50

(The individual sale totals below include the amounts collected from the grand and reserve champions).

The Swine Sale had a total of 229 hogs up for sale and brought an average price of $3.85 per pound.  The total from the swine sale was $236,668.95

The Grand Champion hog was shown by Brock Stute of Mount Vernon.
Dusty’s Ag Service of Mount Vernon purchased the hog at $20 a pound bringing a total price of $5,380.

The Reserve Champion hog was shown by Wyatt Tudor of Centerburg and sold for $17.50 per pound and was purchased by Custom Cutters of Mount Vernon.  The total price was $4,532.50

The Steer Sale (including Beef Feeders) brought in a total of $188,949.
Beef Steers and Beef Feeders brought in $120,593.
Dairy Steers totaled $68,356.

The Grand Champion Beef Steer was shown by Nick McConnell from Mount Vernon. John Hinderer Honda made the purchase at $11.00 a pound for a total price of $15,246.

The Reserve Champion Beef Steer was shown by Ethan Staley from Fredericktown. Country Court Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and The Living Center purchased the animal for $5.00 a pound for a total price of $6,855

The Grand Champion Dairy Steer was shown by Amanda Annett from Utica. Smalls Sand and Gravel made the purchase at $7.00 a pound for a total price of $10,927

The Reserve Champion Dairy Steer was shown by Amanda Annett from Utica. Movers and Schuckers purchased the animal for $5.00 a pound for a total price of $7,905

The average price of Beef Steer was $3.21 a pound
The average price of Beef Feeders was $4.80 per pound
The average price of Dairy Steer was $1.86 a pound

The Dairy Market Feeder Sale had a total of $113,867.80
The average price per pound was $3.26

The Grand Champion Dairy Market Feeder was shown by Amanda Annett of Utica. Didinger and Son Crop Service purchased the animal at $8.00 a pound bringing a total price of $4,000

The Reserve Champion was shown by Alivia Elliott of Howard. Lisa Grassbaugh and Killbuck Savings Bank purchased the animal at $6.75 per pound for a total of $3,402

The Lamb Sale had a total of $32,094.25
The average price per pound for individual lambs was $5.70
The average price per pound for a pen of three was $5.25

The Grand Champion Lamb was shown by Monique Adam of Howard. G & G Feed Supply purchased the animal at $33 a pound bringing a total price of $4,686

The Reserve Champion was shown by Monique Adam of Howard. John Hinderer Honda Power Store purchased the animal at $21 per pound for a total of $2,793

The Grand Champion Pen of 3 market lambs was shown by Hannah Smith of Fredericktown. First Knox National Bank purchased the animal for $5.25 per pound for a total of $2,168.25

The Reserve Champion Pen was shown by Jack Stotts of Mount Vernon. The Aisle Club – “Kids Supporting Kids” were the buyers at $5.25 a pound for a total of $1,853.25

The Market Goat Sale had a total of $24,175.56
The average price per pound for individual goats was $6.18

The Grand Champion market goat was shown by Isaiah Bailey of Butler.
Bullocks Drive Thru bought the animal for $24.50 per pound for a price of $1,935.50

The Reserve Champion market goat was shown by Josiah Bailey of Butler.
John Hinderer Honda was the buyer at $18 a pound for a total of $1,476

The Broiler (Chicken) Sale total was $20,325
The average price was $344.49

The Turkey Sale total was $5,075
The average price was $362.50

The Rabbit Sale total was $15,570
The average price was $374.31

The Grand Champion rabbit (Market Fryers) was shown by Jacob Van Slyke of Bellville and was purchased by First Knox National Bank for a total price of $1,050

The Reserve Champion rabbit was shown by Ethan Teet of Butler and was purchased by In Demand Event Services/Eugene Robinson for a total price of $1,045

Showman of Showmen Competition:
Grand Champion – Monique Adam
Reserve Champion – Emily Roberts

Junior Fair Hall of Fame Inductee – Toni Day (the first Junior Fair Coordinator in 1994).

It has been a busy and fun week at the Knox County Fair.

Thursday is always exciting as we attend the Junior Fair Sales.
WNZR teamed up with Kokosing Inc., Mount Vernon Nazarene University Admissions and A+ Autobrokers to purchase 4 hogs at the Knox County Fair.  We will give these away on Saturday night.  We start drawing names at 6pm.  If your name is drawn, you will have 9 minutes and 9 seconds to claim your prize.  Call 740-392-9090 or be present at the Knox County Fair.
Hog #1 – A 265 pound hog from Lucy Quinn from Mount Vernon.  The purchase price was $2.50 a pound giving a total price of $662.50.  4-H Club is Llamas R Us.
Click HERE to hear our conversation with Lucy.

Hog #2 – A 254 pound hog from Nicholas Peterson from Fredericktown.  The purchase price was $2.70 a pound giving a total price of $685.80.  4-H Club is Blue Ribbon Livestock.
Click HERE to hear our conversation with Nick.

Hog #3 – A 239 pound hog from Wyatt Nissley from Danville.  The purchase price was $3.00 a pound giving a total price of $717.00.  4-H Club is Better Livestock.
Click HERE to hear our conversation with Wyatt.

Hog #4 – A 259 pound hog from Andrew McNeil from Fredericktown. The purchase price was $3.50 a pound giving a total price of $906.50.  4-H Club is Green Valley Giants.
Click HERE to hear our conversation with Andrew.

Smithhisler Meats will provide the processing.
The total amount of our hog purchase:  $2,971.80
For more details on how to register, click HERE.
We also shared 2 more Fantastic Fair Finds!
There is a secret garden that is peaceful and shaded! Click HERE for the details.
On Saturday, 8/1, the Knox County Fair will host Youth Games. Click HERE for details on this fun morning for kids.

Our Morning Thing Fave 5 is our favorite Fantastic Fair Finds for 2015:
1. The best bathroom at the Fair. It is clean and air conditioned!
2. The Porkette sandwich. It is a MUST-EAT Fair Food that is famous with anyone from Knox County.
3. The secret garden that is peaceful and shaded. Details right above.
4. Our secret parking space at the Fair.
5. The shuttle golf carts that have helped people get across the fairgrounds all week.

All week we have been sharing Fantastic Finds at the Knox County Fair.

Today, we talked about the best place to park at the Knox County Fair! Sometimes parking can be chaotic and sometimes a little far away, but if you come in the back entrance of the fair – off of McKenzie RD, turn left up Perimeter Drive, and then left again up the hill, then you might just save yourself from some parking nightmares.

We also talked about one of Annabelle’s fair finds – the Elf Garden in the flower show building! It was made by Dan Behr and won First Place in the show, and is a little garden in a flower pot, that has tiny fairy like features.

You can hear both of these stories here:

Today is the Sale of Champions!

In preparation for today’s event, we had the opportunity to talk with Alivia Elliott who was the Reserve Champion in the Dairy Market Feeder category. You can hear her story here:

And we talked with Jacob VanSlyke who was the Grand Champion in the Rabbits category. You can hear our conversation with him here: 

We hope that you have a wonderful day!

All week, we have been sharing Fantastic Finds at the Knox County Fair.

Today, we shared some information about transportation.
Many local residents struggle with the challenge to find a parking space once they get to the Fair. Knox Area Transit is helping you by providing shuttle service back and forth to the fairgrounds. Click here to hear Marcy Rinehart share the details of how you can catch a ride to the Fair.

Once you get to the Knox County Fair, it can be a challenge to walk up and down the hills to get to your favorite attractions. NO problem! This year, there is complimentary golf cart transportation  around the fairgrounds. Click here to hear more details on how to catch the golf cart.

Are you bringing kids to the fair? The Sonshine Kids Clubhouse is definitely a Fantastic Fair Find for you! Click here to hear Marcy chat with Kim Bradley about this wonderful outreach of Mount Vernon’s First Church of the Nazarene.

We can’t talk about the Knox County Fair without talking about FOOD! Marcy stopped by a the Knox County Pork Council’s “Little Red Barn” to talk about the famous Porkette! Listen here.

Wesley Boston of The Morning Thing had a chance to talk to the Junior Fair Queen, Abby Pozderac from Fredericktown. Click here to get to know Abby.

We wrapped up the show by going back in time to the 1964 World’s Fair. Check out this list of 20 awesome things that people got to see at that Fair.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/56322/20-awesome-things-people-saw-1964-worlds-fair

The Knox County Fair continues! The Morning Thing crew is sharing fantastic fair finds each morning. This morning, we shared several fantastic finds at this year’s Fair.

The Resource Adventure Zone is the newest attraction at the Knox County Fair this year.

This educational experience is located in the parking area down by the pond on “the back 40.” Guests can participate in continuous activities, free of charge, from 3-6 p.m. on Wednesday 7/29 and Friday 7/31.
WNZR’s Kelsey Bryte talked with Rob Clendening of the Knox Soil and Water Conservation District about this new attraction. Click HERE to hear about the exciting activities.
A shuttle is available to transport fair guests to the Resource Adventure Zone.

Marcy Rinehart and Annabelle Harray shared 2 other Fantastic Finds at the Knox County Fair. Listen HERE to find out where to find the best bathroom and ice cream on the fairgrounds.

FOOD is a BIG part of going to the Fair. Check out this list of the most insane fried foods at fairs across the country.

Do you know how many kids are participating in shows at the Knox County Fair? The numbers are impressive! WNZR’s Kelsey Bryte talked with Andrea Daubenmier, 4H Youth Development/OSU Extension Office. Click HERE to hear how our Knox County kids are involved at the Fair this week.

We shared some history about the Knox County Junior Fair Kings and Queens. Click HERE for the complete list that dates back to 1973. Congratulations to the 2015 Queen, Abby Pozderac from Fredericktown and Caleb Hickman from Mount Vernon. WNZR’s Joe Rinehart talked with Caleb. Click HERE to hear their conversation.

We also shared information about a Kroger spice recall. Click HERE for more information.

The first official day of the Knox County Fair was Sunday 7/26/15. 
There was a lot of activity including the crowing of some Fair Royalty for 2015.
Congratulations to:
Abby Pozderac and Caleb Hickman – 2015 Junior Fair Queen and King
Abby Farris – 2015 Little Miss Knox County Fair
Shelby Erlandson – 2015 Junior Fair Rabbit Queen
2015 Equine Royalty – Lauren White (Queen), Macey Gage (Princess), Alec Johnson (Prince)
Click here to hear Joe’s report on this year’s Equine Royalty.

Joe Rinehart and Miriam Hayslett shared more results from the Little Miss Knox County Fair show. Click here to hear their report.

Joe was honored to serve as a judge for the annual Lamb Cook-Off. He had a chance to talk to the winners. Click here to hear from the winners in both the youth and adult divisions.

There was also a  Pork Cook-Off yesterday at the Knox County Fair.
WNZR’s Miriam Hayslett and Jessica Wells helped in the judging.

Congratulations to the winners.
Youth Division – 1st Place Cord Stewart and 2nd Place David Daniels
Adult Division – 1st Place Heather Stewart and 2nd place Lisa Hathaway

The Morning Thing team is taking on a challenge this week to find fantastic things happening at the 2015 Knox County Fair.
The Morning Thing Fantastic Fair Find on Sunday was the NEW 4H Silent Auction. 107 items are up for bid in the 4H Building on the Knox County Fairgrounds. Final bids are due on Saturday, August 1 at Noon. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Knox County 4H Program. WNZR’s Jessica Wells talked with Larry Hall about this exciting new event at the Fair. Click here to hear that conversation.

WNZR is excited to participate. We donated 2 deluxe camping chairs to the auction.

Stop by the 4H building and place your bids.

Make sure to stop by the WNZR Tent when you come to the Knox County Fair. We have prizes for everyone in the family. See a complete list of our prizes here. Get registered here.

On The Road with Big Blue – at the Knox County Fair – ALL this week!

It was a full day on the Morning Thing! We started out with a conversation on how to deep clean the entire house in just SEVEN days. What can easily be a daunting and challenging task is easily broken down into manageable, day by day chunks by Penny Pincher Jenny. You can check out the entire checklist at the link below because the house might need a little love before spring:

http://pennypincherjenny.com/ways-for-deep-cleaning-your-home-in-just-7-days/

And we gave away quite a few prizes today as well! Congrats to Laura- she won today’s Chris Tomlin song poetry winner. She won two tickets to see him at the Ohio State Fair on August 3rd. Keep listening next week for more chances to win tickets. http://wnzr.fm/chris-tomlin.html

And congrats to Debbie as well! She won a week long pass to the Knox County Fair! Be sure listen all next week for Fair updates and information on our big giveaway! http://wnzr.fm/knox-county-fair.html

For our Fave 5 this morning we each shared our favorite thing from this week:

As a whole we were excited as we prepared for the Knox County Fair. We had a fun scheduling meeting on Monday as we ate cereal and figured out who was doing what job. We also had a long but fun training meeting last night where we practiced, planned, and got ready for the Fair while bonding as a staff. We are all excited to start the Fair!

Miriam had fun earlier this week at a bachlorette party swimming and having girl time. And then afterwards she got to get breakfast at midnight with her boyfriend, which was a fun treat!

Annabelle got to go see the new Pixar movie “Inside Out” and really loved the fun story and good messages about handling one’s feelings.

Wesley is excited to go down to Columbus to celebrate his girlfriend’s birthday with her. Since she is going to be starting her teaching job next month he is surprising her with some classroom decorations that he made!

And Marcy is super happy about the productive week that her daughter had. Rachel finished driving school and got a job at Wendy’s!

Celebrate National Hot Dog Day with The Morning Thing!

If ketchup and mustard are boring to you, please check out this list of 15 outrageous hot dog toppings! WOW!
http://my.xfinity.com/slideshow/news-outrageoushotdogs/1/

….And here is a link to more CRAZY hot dog toppings.
http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/08/toppings-make-you-love-hot-dogs/#/blt

Today, The Morning Thing also told you about the “Fill the Bus” campaign – a collection of school supplies for families in Knox County. We talked with Jennifer Odenweller, Executive Director of the United Way of Knox County. Click here to hear that conversation and how you can help kids get ready to go back to school.

Hello!

This morning on The Morning Thing, we talked about what a family mission statement is and how your family could go about creating one. Many days life becomes so busy and overwhelming that it becomes difficult to stay on task and we forget who it is that God called us to be. Having a family mission statement is something short and simple that can capture the characteristics and values that you and your family hold in your hearts, and how you want to live your lives and relationships – with integrity, intention, and purpose. It can help to bring you back to reality and remind you of who you want to be and what you want to accomplish, when you do get distracted and pulled away by the busy-ness and pressures of this world.

Here are the five steps that can start you in the process of creating a family mission statement:

1. Talk as a couple

Start a conversation about creating a family mission statement. Talk about things like what a mission statement is, and how it matters to your family. Prepare your hearts for where God would guide you in designing your family, and allow time for this project to settle in your spirits.

2. Invite the kids

Invite the kids to start throwing out their ideas of what is important to them. You might be surprised at what they come up with. If you have young kids, have them tell you words of phrases. If your kids are older you could have them each sit down with  paper and pencil and see where their hearts are without the pressure of the family dynamic. It would be really fun to see where they are individually and then bring those pages together and brainstorm as a family from there.

3. Write it all down

Have a notetaker and just get everything on paper. Once you have all the ideas down you can start playing with words and putting them together.

4. Decide on a format

Do you want to have a short catch-phrase or a long and developed statement? Maybe both. A short take-away phrase can be used to quickly remind ourselves and each other to get back on track with what matters to us.

5. Create

Every single one of us was made to make art. It’s easy to start making excuses that we’re not creative or good with words and how or why that excludes us from stepping into the arena. But the truth is we all have this aching desire to create something. To be a part of something – or build something – bigger than us. What better place to build than our families?

You can view the entire article here:

Also, it’s Prince George’s second birthday today! In celebration of his birthday, a new photo has been released! It was taken at the christening of his sister, Princess Charlotte, on July 5th. He looks just as adorable in this photo as he always does 🙂

In the 8am hour, we had a conversation with Jessica who is a trained navigator with the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. She talked about what they’re doing to help families with health care at the Knox County Health Department, and about how people can participate in the free sessions. You can hear the full conversation here: