Fair open to hosting an Extension office

Heather Wright, vice chair of the Carlton County fair board, has assured Carlton County commissioners that the fair board is committed to updating the 4-H building on the grounds and can make it available for the Minnesota Extension Office.

“The 4-H building is already used for 4-H and Extension work in the summer,” Wright said during the board meeting Monday. “It is a large building and centered in the rural area of the county.”

Wright said there are many buildings in the fairground complex that could be used more effectively for Extension clinics and demonstration projects. Extension has had to rent buildings in places such as Floodwood to hold public outreach.

Extension personnel are now housed in an old insurance building next to the Carlton post office. There are two full-time employees, an educator and a 4-H organizer, paid partially through state funding to the University of Minnesota Extension. A Master Gardener program leader and an agriculture technician who tests farm soils and handles the soil improvement program are also full-time.

The fair board has agreed that it would upgrade a building for year-round use if a long-term lease is agreed to by both parties.