OFFICIALS SAY STATE FAIR'S FINANCES, LIKE A MIDWAY RIDE, ARE NOW SPINNING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

KEARNEY — Things were going to be different this time.

With $42 million in new, shiny facilities that someone else owned and a dependable revenue source in proceeds from the state lottery, the Nebraska State Fair was supposed to be on firm financial footing.

And for several years, that was true.

In 2010, the year the fair was first held in Grand Island, it attracted 310,000 visitors, a number that had grown to 380,000 by 2017.

For each of the first eight years the fair was held at Fonner Park, it reported a six-figure profit.

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