Opening Night Kicks Off 2026 Knox County 4-H/FFA Fair
By Echo Menges
The 2026 Knox County 4-H/FFA Fair officially opened Tuesday evening at the fairgrounds north of Edina with a celebration of youth achievement, community involvement and county tradition.
Before the evening’s awards and presentations, fairgoers enjoyed a free community meal sponsored by The Citizens Bank of Edina. Bank employees and volunteers served the bank’s traditional hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, cookies and drinks at no charge, continuing a longstanding opening-night tradition that drew a large crowd to the fairgrounds.
The opening night program recognized dozens of 4-H and FFA members for their accomplishments in the Art Hall before crowning the 2026 fair royalty and concluding with the second annual Community Showcase Awards, highlighting the talents of local residents.
The evening began with recognition of six junior fair superintendents who assisted with Art Hall judging earlier in the day. Honored for volunteering their time were Teddy Clark, Jason Devlin, Alexis Glasgow, Hallie Glasgow, Landon Witherow and Marli Western. Organizers thanked the students for helping judges evaluate exhibits and keeping the judging process running smoothly.
Judges evaluated approximately 110 projects exhibited by Clover Kids, 4-H and FFA members in this year’s Art Hall competition. Displays remain open for public viewing throughout the fair. Organizers also recognized Top Notch Trailers and Hunter Body Shop for providing trailers to display exhibits and Citizens Bank of Edina for housing perishable entries during the week.
One of the highlights of the evening was the recognition of Knox County’s youngest participants, the 4-H Clover Kids. Designed for youth ages 5 through 7, the Clover Kids program introduces children to 4-H through meetings, activities and age-appropriate projects before they become eligible for regular 4-H membership.
Each Clover Kid who exhibited a project at this year’s fair received a participation certificate and commemorative medal sponsored by Holman Ag Service LLC. Those recognized included Piper Penn, James O’Donnell, Easton Clary, Mary Kate Greenley, Jerimiah Crawford, Henry Hicks, Elisia March, Jozie March, Archer Crawford, Koltyn Moore, Tommy O’Donnell, Hoyt Strange and Kenny Shultz.
Art Hall awards followed, recognizing outstanding exhibits across a wide variety of project areas.
Among the evening’s top winners, Reagan James received the Knox County Farm Bureau Family Community Education Award as the overall high-point exhibitor age 14 and older in child development, clothing, knitting, crochet, foods, food preservation, home environment and horticulture projects. James also earned top honors in Foods and Nutrition B for Oreo cookie dough brownies and Food Preservation for strawberry jam.
Alexis Glasgow received multiple awards, including the Dogs plaque for a dog first aid kit, Foods and Nutrition A for muffins and the Judge’s Choice plaque for a bacon exhibit.
Hallie Glasgow earned plaques in the Meats and Poultry divisions, while Hailey Luthenauer received top honors in Horse and Rabbits and shared the Overall Needlepoint/Quilting/ Needlecraft Award with McKenna Holdren. Jakob Karhoff was recognized in Sportfishing and Welding, Katherine Devlin earned the Cake Decorating and Swine awards, Charlie Glasgow won Photography I, Landon Witherow claimed Photography II, Kelsey Moore received the Sewing I award, Hank Luthenauer topped the Sheep division, Wyatt Hicks was recognized in Shooting Sports, Poppy Brenizer won Scrapbooking, and Kigar James received the Woodworking A plaque. Mason Karhoff was selected through a drawing for the Delmar and Sonjia Strange youth cash award.
Following the Art Hall presentations, attention turned to the annual royalty coronation.
Princess candidates included Katherine Devlin, Charlie Glasgow and McKenna Holdren. Hank Luthenauer was the lone prince candidate, while Reagan James was the only queen candidate. Candidates were evaluated earlier in the week during the Royalty Tea, where they were judged on demonstrations, interviews, 4-H stories and poise.
The audience also welcomed back the 2025 royalty court: Princess Alexis Glasgow and Prince Kameron Moore, along with Queen Nora Penn and King Jason Devlin, who were recognized for representing Knox County 4-H throughout the past year.
The evening concluded with the Community Showcase Awards, now in its second year. Created to encourage participation from residents outside the traditional 4-H and FFA program, the showcase featured entries in categories including photography, quilting, woodworking, canning, flowers, fruits and vegetables, sewing, crochet, metal artwork and creative arts.
Several exhibitors claimed championship honors. Pam Witherow won Fabric/Needlework, Anita James received championships in Flowers and Fruits and Vegetables, Genel Ellison topped the Canning division, Tanner Ellison won Photography, Terry Lesher earned the Metal Artwork championship, Dot Krieghauser captured championships in Adult Crochet, Creative Arts, Sewing and Quilting, Chad Hunter claimed the Woodworking championship, and Kashley Hunter earned the Youth Crochet title.
From among the category champions, Chad Hunter’s wooden horse wall décor was selected as the 2026 Community Showcase Best in Show, earning the overall championship ribbon and a $40 cash award. Organizers thanked all exhibitors for participating and expressed hopes of expanding the event in future years.
Opening night set the tone for a week celebrating agriculture, leadership, creativity and community service as exhibitors continue competing in livestock shows, educational events and contests before the fair concludes later this week.
