Axios Des Moines: Despite COVID-19 dampening attendance, the Iowa State Fair’s revenues were up by millions of dollars last year. The 2021 Iowa State Fair made around $36 million — about $2 million higher than 2019’s profit, according to preliminary revenue data provided to Axios. That’s apart from the $11 million the fair received from federal COVID relief funds, including a Paycheck Protection Program loan and a Shuttered Venues Operators Grant. There were 80,000 fewer visits to the fair last year in comparison to 2019, equating to a loss of around $300,000, Iowa State Fair CEO Gary Slater told Axios. But the Grandstand sold 20,000 more seats than it did in 2019. More money was also spent at concessions last year, Slater said. Other states didn’t fare as well — the Minnesota State Fair, Iowa’s largest neighboring fair, suffered a $1.3 million operating loss.