Greene County residents wasted no time collecting successes at the Iowa State Fair. Thursday, the first day of the fair, saw a local dance quartet advance in the Bill Riley Talent Search and the first wins for veteran foods competitor Marianne Carlson.
A tap dance quintet composed of (from left) Abigail Badger, Nadia Fisher, Karli Anthofer, Olivia Hansen and Hannah McConnell danced in the Bill Riley Talent Search and qualified for semi-final competition Friday and Saturday.
It will be the second semi-final appearance for Anthofer and McConnell, as they were in a tap dance quartet that placed fourth in the Bill Riley competition in 2014. Other members of that quartet were Kate Sandage and Kami Badger.
Marianne Carlson won first place and a $100 cash award in the Knapp’s Build Your Best Cheesecake competition judged Aug. 11, the first day of the fair. Entries were judged on appearance, texture and flavor.
She also won first place overall in the Tammie’s No Bake Desserts contest after placing first in the “without crust” category. The prize was $50. Desserts were judged on taste, appearance, and ease of preparation.
Carlson placed second in the Bubba’s Fried Chicken Challenge. She netted a $75 gift card. Contestants were challenged to create award winning white and dark meat with entries judged on moisture, flavor, crunchiness and appearance.
In the Twins, Triplets and More contest judged Thursday Avril and Becca Shahan of Jefferson placed second in the “most alike, age 2” division.
