Fair board to interview Wyoming applicant

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BY ART HOVEY / Lincoln Journal Star

He’s worked at the biggest state fair in the United States and, most recently, at the smallest.  And right now, Barney Cosner would have to be considered the favorite to be the next manager of the Nebraska State Fair.

Cosner, manager of the Wyoming State Fair, will be in Lincoln Saturday for an interview with the state fair board.

As of Monday, the 54-year-old Cosner is the only one of dozens of applicants to reach that stage, said Steve Kruger of Arlington, chairman of the 13-member board.

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That’s because “he probably has the most experience at a state fair,” Kruger said.

Depending on how the weekend interviewing goes, “we will possibly make a decision then,” he said.

Cosner has managed the Wyoming fair at Douglas, about 50 miles east of Casper, since 1998.

The Wyoming fair drew about 45,000 paid guests in 2005. Nearly 263,000 people paid to get into the the Nebraska fair the same year.

Cosner holds a doctorate-level degree from Colorado State University and taught in the animal science department there prior to returning to his Wyoming roots to fair management.

Among other major stops in Cosner’s career are the Texas State Fair at Dallas, the National Western Stock Show in Denver, and the Iowa State University faculty, where he taught agricultural education.

In an interview Monday, he was quick to acknowledge the recent improvement in the financial outlook at the Nebraska fair. That follows the 2004 general election and passage of an amendment that routed $2 million per year to the fair from the state lottery.

After years of dwindling attendance, the Lincoln numbers finished in positive territory in 2004 and 2005.

“The Nebraska State Fair rode a pretty heavy rollercoaster from way down in the valley to climbing toward a mountain now,” Cosner said.

He called voter action on Amendment 4 in 2004 “a tremendous plus to enhancing the well-being of the future of State Fair Park. There’s no doubt.”

Cosner — or some other applicant who has yet to be identified — will become the fair’s third executive director since 2002.

Between them, Henry Brandt and John Skold held the job for 38 years. Then Pat Lloyd left after 27 months to manage the Ozark Empire Fair in Missouri. His successor, Rick Bjorklund, left after 15 months to handle similar duties in Tulsa, Okla.

Cosner, who knows all four men, said the quicker turnover rate “doesn’t say much of anything.”

Lloyd “walked into a very, very difficult situation” on budget matters prior to Amendment 4. Bjorklund “was there long enough to be seen and to be heard and to get some things going. So the tenure of the previous people doesn’t affect my looking at the whole package.”

Cosner said he will arrive in Lincoln with an open mind.

“There’s a lot more I need to know about the Nebraska State Fair and this is an opportunity to come and learn.”

Reach Art Hovey at 523-4949 or at ahovey@alltel.net.