The Iowa State Fair killed off the interior tram last year, said nothing about it coming back, and kept the official website on a “safety protocols” wording that might have passed last year but not now. It’s up to a KNIA/KRLS story from last month about the Pleasantville FFA’s volunteer operation to tell the truth:
“Last year the indoor trams were cut due to covid and funding issues so we only did the trams outside of the fair,” Pleasantville FFA Alumni President Marris Clark told the radio stations. The tram “outside the fair” is a shuttle that runs back and forth across the parking lots on the north side of the fairgrounds.
You’d think that providing an important service to fairgoers — an essential one if you’re over 60 and interested in going to Pioneer Hall or the Cultural Center — would be something to keep active, but I guess not. At least the campground shuttle is still active, even though its endpoint moved from the Triangle to Heritage Village years ago.