Group files lawsuit to keep fair in Lincoln
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BY ART HOVEY / Lincoln Journal Star
Three plaintiffs, including former Lincoln mayoral candidate Roger Yant, have turned to a lawsuit to try to block the move of the Nebraska State Fair to Grand Island.
Legal arguments filed in Lancaster County District Court Friday assert the legislation passed in April to move the fair is unconstitutional.
Yant declined comment Monday and directed questions to Lincoln attorney Ken Winston.
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Winston said a ruling on a request for a temporary restraining order could come in a matter of weeks.
“We would like to have it heard by the court as soon as possible,” Winston said, “so that we can have a determination of the validity of the statute and so that everybody can go about their business.”
Yant was also part of a group called FairVoteNebraska.com that failed earlier this year to collect enough signatures to put the state fair issue on the November ballot.
He seems intent on keeping a lower profile with the more recent strategy.
“We’re going to fight this in the court,” he said. “We’re not going to fight it in the newspaper.”
News of the lawsuit emerged just two days before an Oct. 1 deadline for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the city of Grand Island to have financial commitments in place to cover $10.5 million of the $42 million cost of moving the fair.
By July 1 of next year, the university must come up with $21.5 million to hold up its end of the deal that will convert State Fair Park to a research campus and give UNL an anchoring presence there.
Grand Island, which has already passed a tax on restaurant food to cover $5 million of its cost share, is obligated for $8.5 million overall.
The rest of the $42 million is scheduled to come from the Legislature and the State Fair Board.
Grand Island Mayor Margaret Hornaday said she was “surprised and dumbfounded by who’s doing it.”
She described Yant as “a Lincoln wannabe.”
The other plaintiffs are Brian Von Seggern of Adams and Jerry Christensen of Grand Island.
Von Seggern alleges financial harm because many of the customers of his tractor-painting business turn to him to spruce up their tractor-pull entries before the fair.
Christensen’s objections are as a Grand Island taxpayer.
Attorney Winston alluded to “a lot of other people who have an interest in this issue . . . whose interests are reflected in the lawsuit.”
One of the legal arguments is that passage of Amendment 4 in 2004 conveyed a message from voters that they wanted 10 percent of the annual proceeds from the Nebraska Lottery spent specifically to upgrade State Fair Park in Lincoln.
More recent legislative action “would violate the language and intent” of Amendment 4.
Jerry Fitzgerald of Gering, president of the fair board, declined comment on the latest move to keep the fair in Lincoln. “We’ve never been part of that from the very beginning, one way or the other,” Fitzgerald said.
Hornaday said Grand Island will stay with an agenda that calls for the community to host the fair for the first time in 2010.
“As far as I’m concerned, the law is the State Fair is moving to Grand Island,” she said. “And we’re moving forward with the State Fair moving to Grand Island until somebody tells us it’s not the law anymore.”
Cindy Johnson, president of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce, said community leaders will meet to discuss the latest development.
“Any time there’s a lawsuit filed, you have to pay attention to that,” Johnson said. “So this will be taking some of our energies away from other things and redirecting those energies again.”
Reach Art Hovey at 473-7223 or at ahovey@journalstar.com.
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Honestly just kill the fair. Its a waste of time and money that could best be used for something constructive. "
Who will financially gain from this??
Let G.I have the Fair and take UNL with you. "
Roger, you lost a mayoral election for obvious reasons. The citizens of Lincoln are above average in their intelligence. Why do you insist on bringing down that average? Very simply put - give it up already. "
Back to the Fair. Shut it down and save it the slow and agonizing demise. "
People in Eastern Nebraska will drive to Lincoln for the State Fair and other things to do in Lincoln. Fine...go ahead...move it to Grand Island and "the people will not come" or drive to G.I. for the State Fair......
sorry, I've already heard people talking about it. "
If you want people from big cities to come to your fair, fill it with things that big city people are interested in. If you don't figure that out, you'll NEVER have a thriving fair inside Lincoln.
Mr. Yant & Friends need to learn the concept of the Dollar Vote. We've all voted on the Fair already. We've been doing it for decades now. Over and over, the people of this area have voted NO on the Fair. It's time you people figured that out.
Enough. Let it go. "
It is not very fair that people on this site use this forum to denigrate Roger for this views. I say let the people decide. "
I have exhibited draft horse at all the State Fairs in the Midwest.
I can tell you that Lincoln was one of my favorite places to exhibit and not sure that I would go to Grand Island.
I always looked forward to going to Lincoln after showing at couple of other state fairs.
As far as the State Fair being in capitol city I can tell you that the Mo State Fair originally was in Boonville, MO. There was a move among those in the legislature to move it to Jefferson City but Sedalia came up with more money to build the barns and buildings for it than the state was willing to give.
Moving the fair will have a far more greater impact on Lincoln than those who supposedly know will admit to. "
Finally, the Amendment 4 argument is such a ridiculous stretch. The court will read it mean the voters wanted 10% to go to Stair Fair Park. The wording of "Lincoln" is merely superfluous as at that point in time the fair hadn't been anywhere else for about 100 years.
Furthermore, you people make me sick! You are willing to fight this merely out of spite! Someone posted "make UNL pay." Are you kidding me?? Well, Einstein, you realize if you pay taxes in Nebraska you are in fact paying when UNL pays?? Not to mention that you're willing to kill a project that will actually bring in real jobs and help boost the economy of Lincoln.
I am just absolutely amazed at the unbelievable level of spite, hatred, and ignorance displayed here. You people whine and moan about how our country is such a mess and you blame it on the republican politicians or you blame it on the democratic politicians. Well, guess what people?! The problem is the blind ignorant masses who are incapable of making educated decisions on the most basic levels.
Whether you agree or disagree with the fair move is one thing but the comments on here concerning "making UNL pay" or "use this federal act you can delay it for years" in a nutshell show what is wrong with this country.
And for the last time, will you people please please figure out that MOST state fairs in the plains states DO NOT have their fairs in neither their capital nor their largest city. Please do a little research before simply making up facts. "
If it would somehow go to a vote, which it absolutely will not and should not, the entire State of Nebraska will vote on it.
The land owned is also owned by the State...as all of the land owned by UNL. Again, why do you think this is city decision?? It is not! The state legislature ultimately passed this move and they were voted on by the ENTIRE state. Have you ever heard of representative government? The power of the people flowed through the Unicameral...the people of the state had their "say" when they elected the senators who voted on the issue. Please, take a civics lesson.
Finally, the only surrounding state that has their fair in its capital city is Iowa (in Des Moines). In fact, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, and Kansas have their fairs in Huron, Minot, Pueblo, and Hutchinson respectively. And they are all more successful than the fair in Lincoln!! "
Am tired of unl getting everything that they want, they need to pay. look at the cushman property, what have they done, but pile junk there. wtg yant. "
Mark mentions the National Historic Preservation Act. As a society, we are quick to tear down historic buildings. Hope someone is working on this avenue too. "
It means you are the minority and you lost. People voted the money to go to the fair back in 2004 to upgrade the fair. Well nothing has been done to the fairgrounds to update them. There have been no major additions, renovations, or improvments to the acts/shows. The lack of leadership from the fair board to put forth an event worth the money they are perceived to receive from the taxpayer and have in their budget each year, has been noticed.
Since people can't control the fair board for the most part or get the major changes they want to see, they chose an alternative. They can control the fair with their voice. They, us, the majority's representatives, chose to vote to move it. Let it move, let it go and stop wasting time and money. The big picture says it is time to move it and move on. "
For me personally, I want the fair to stay in Lincoln. My personal involvement would make it more convenient. If it should move to Grand Island - will we go? I don't know. It will take a lot of rearranging to go.
And how about the people who are employed by the University who are very involved because the State Fair is part of their extension work? How are you going to get all of them to Grand Island? They will be turning in large expense vouchers - something that has obviously not been considered.
I also think it's beyond belief that the University system seems to rule this town. And yes, maybe Lincoln didn't fight hard enough in the beginning. But don't knock someone down because they want to fight for what they have a passion for. "
Why is there a need to believe "get away from your Wii's, etc."?? What proof is there that says raising an animal will improve ones future as opposed to being heavily involved in electronics? Personally, electronics has a better future than showing a cow at the fair.
Instead of living in the past...be a part of the future, huh? "
And as someone else mentioned, it's a STATE fair, not a LINCOLN fair. If you're so into it, go to the county fair. I hear it's better than the state fair even thought about being. "
I will not attend the State Fair in Lincoln, but I will most definitely attend the first State Fair in Grand Island. "
What else do people have a problem with? How about Antelope Valley? How about the fact that the Devaney center can’t be used for concerts anymore? What about all the professors earning $130k+ who never set foot in their classrooms instead allowing grad students to take their place? How about the fact that Fair Voter petitioners were threatened by UNL police and forced to leave even though they were on a public sidewalk? What about their outspoken opposition to any effort to restrict the growth in state taxes? That’s enough to me to oppose anything UNL wants from here on out. "
Take the fair GI. We don't want it and we're tired of having it weigh us down. "
If the "nice medium" Lincoln you remember "in the 70's" is the 1770s, then you truly are a LifeLongResident. "