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State fair director notes this year's attendance increase

State Fair
KBIA

 

More than 366,000 people attended the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia this year, an increase of over 3 percent compared to last year.  

Director Mark Wolfe says the increase has had a “ripple effect on the Fair’s revenue generating streams,” and has helped solidify the annual event’s financial footing. 

In a written statement released Monday, he credited the increased attendance to great weather, combined with gate promotions and special celebrations, such as Military Appreciation Day. 

The 2013 Missouri State Fair was also hit with negative publicity after a rodeo clown donned a mask of President Obama during a bull riding event.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
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