WHO RADIO GREAT IOWA TRACTOR RIDE COMES TO NORTHWEST IOWA FOR FOUR DAYS!

The tractors, 537 to be exact, are coming to Northwest Iowa on June 23-26 for the WHO Radio Great Iowa Tractor Ride! With more than 600 participants, and another 400+ family members, this event promises to get people talking TRACTORS!

“We are really excited to use Sioux City as our home base this year,” said Janine Van Vark, one of the many coordinators of the event. “The people here have been absolutely fantastic to work with and have made us feel like we are at home and a part of their community.”

The WHO Radio Great Iowa Tractor Ride will begin on Sunday, June 23rd. According to Van Vark, tractors and participants will begin rolling in sometime around 8 AM on Sunday the 23rd, and continue throughout the day. “Sunday is our gathering day, where the participants register, get their tractors shined up and this year will spend time sharing stories.” We encourage the public to come and look over the Tractors, visit with the Drivers and look through our Sponsor displays. Tractors will be on the streets early on Monday the 24th, starting to leave Stadium Drive at 6 a.m. through 8:05 a.m. Tuesday we will roll out between 7 a.m. through 9:45 a.m. and Wednesday will be a short day for us. Rolling out will be 7 a.m. through 8:20 a.m. We will cloverleaf out of Sioux City to nearby communities. We will return to Sioux City, our home base location, at the end of each day. Drivers and their Families will be out enjoying the community each evening after parking the tractors.

Route Schedules for the WHO Tractor Ride

Monday, June 24
Tractors will leave Stadium Drive and head out on Singing Hills Blvd between 6 a.m. and 8:05 a.m. toward Bronson. At Bronson the tractors will divide and go two different routes to Le Mars where they will eat Lunch at the Community Center, served by the Plymouth County Extension and the Plymouth County Pork producers.

Group One will head to Lawton High School for a break, served by the High School students from many of the school’s organizations (times for arriving will be 8:30a.m.- 9:55 a.m.)….next we travel down the road to Trinity Lutheran Church on HWY C60 (times for arriving will be 10:08a.m.- 11:20a.m) …then on into Le Mars for Lunch arriving between 11:59 a.m.- 12:40 p.m.

Group Two will head to Moville for a break at “The Meadows” golf course, with snack provided by the Women’s Group “The Meadow Larks” (times for arriving will be 8:32a.m.- 9:46a.m.)….next down the road to a unique place, the Duane and Pat Juncks’ Farm (times for arriving will be 10:34a.m.- 11:31a.m) …then on into Le Mars for Lunch arriving between 12:27 p.m.- 1:18 p.m.

Monday afternoon we will switch and go the opposite routes back to Sioux City to the Explorer’s Baseball Stadium.
Arrival times in the Host locations will be;
The Juncks’ Farm – 1:56 p.m.- 2:36 p.m.
Moville, “The Meadows” – 3:41p.m.- 4:19 p.m.
Trinity Lutheran Church – 2:18 p.m. – 3:01 p.m.
Lawton High School – 4:03 p.m. – 4:46 p.m.

Tuesday, June 25
All the groups will follow each other on Tuesday. Leaving on Stadium Drive and going out on Singing Hill Blvd, we will head toward Climbing Hills and stop for a break at the City Park in Smithland. We will arrive at the Park in nine groups between 8:55 a.m. – 11:07 a.m. After our stop in the Park, Tractors will proceed to our Lunch site in Onawa. The Monona County Fairgrounds will serve as our location with our Host being the Monona County Cattlemen. Tractors will arrive at the Fairgrounds between 10 :58 a.m. through 12:41 p.m. After Lunch tractors will head north to Hornick. The Hornick City Park will serve as our break location. We will be pulling into Hornick between 1:25 p.m. – 3:12 p.m., and back on the road to Sioux City with planned arrival times between 4:11 p.m. – 5:17 p.m.. Tuesday evening will also be a night for the Drivers and their families to explore the community.

Wednesday, June 26
Our final day and also a short day for travel. Leaving on Stadium Drive we will go the opposite direction and head out of Sioux City on Lewis Blvd. We will head to the Brown’s Lake area to take a short break at a shelter area, and then head down to Sloan…entering the edge of Sloan on Hwy K45, we will then head north on Hwy K42 back to Sioux City. Tractors will arrive back to the stadium between 10:16 a.m. – 12 :45 p.m.

Now that you have all of the information, you may be wondering WHY a Tractor Ride? We all come together for four days of fun, fellowship and a celebration of Iowa’s rich agricultural heritage. We hope to make a positive impact in your communities, and perhaps bring a smile or encourage an old childhood memory. The Drivers might not see each other, or even talk to their Tractor Ride Buddies again until next year, but for the hundreds that participate, it’s become an annual family “tradition“ that is looked forward to every year. That is “WHY” WHO Radio has continued this event for 17 years, and plans to continue for many more.