Iowa company tasked with making ribbons for Iowa State Fair

MT. PLEASANT, Iowa — From baked goods to livestock shows, there are several contests to compete in to win a ribbon at the Iowa State Fair.

Thousands are handed out every year, and they’re made right here in Iowa.

The process is seamless.

“The printing starts at one area, they have buttons that are printed in another area, and the tops are sewn by the girls in a different area,” Staats Awards General Manager Lori White explains.

Because the final product is important.

“What these girls are doing, they’re assembling the rosettes for the Iowa State Fair,” White said.

In fact, Staats Awards in Mt. Pleasant is in charge of assembling all the ribbons for the Iowa State Fair.

“It’s a little feather in our caps and kind of rewarding,” White said.

Rewarding for White and her 19 employees who have a lengthy to-do list.

“The V-top ribbons, we’re going to do over 32,000 of them. The rosettes, well depending on the year, 3,500 to 4,000,” White lists off. “The banners we’ll do about a thousand and then we do all the queen sashes and tiaras as well.”

Gale Riley is using ribbon in shade “peacock” to make the sashes that all the county fair queens will wear when competing to be the state fair queen.

“Yes, in fact the 2023 one I know her very well,” Riley said.

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It was special when a girl from Henry County, Kalayna Durr, was crowned the winner.

“I was very pleased to see that,” Riley said. “I don’t know whether she knows if I make them or not. But yeah, it was fun to see her get it.”

Because usually, these ladies don’t know who their creations end up with. Even so every ribbon is cut, stitched, and pressed with care.

“It’s important to make sure that what they’re doing they’re putting out quality,” White said. “Because you have a recipient who’s worked really hard to receive that award, so we want to make sure they receive something prestigious as well.”

Staats’ reach extends beyond Iowa.

“We go all the way down to Florida and New York,” White said. “We have Los Angeles and Orange County in California. Texas, the Dakotas, everywhere, Washington. So about every corner.”

The company even started tradition for all county and state fairs. With blue ribbons for first place and red ribbons for second place, it’s printed that Staats standardized the colors for the lower places.

A colorful, 127-year history that’s rooted in Iowa and full of growth.

“When I first started, maybe 200 rosettes were a lot,” Francine Ward, an employee who’s worked 40 years at Staats, said. “Now, it’s thousands.”

Thousands of ribbons that will lead to thousands of memories at the Iowa State Fair.

“Going through the internet and seeing all the different ribbons that people have won,” White said, “it’s like cool, we did that.”

To learn more about Staats visit their website.