Annual MIAPA Steam Threshing and Plowing Show returns to Marshall County this weekend
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The area in front of the Marshall County Jail and Sheriff's Office property between Marshalltown and State Center along Highway 30 will serve as something of a portal back in time this coming weekend as the 42nd annual Mid-Iowa Antique Power Association (MIAPA) Steam Threshing and Plowing Show will be held from Friday through Sunday with a wide variety of activities available to visitors of all ages.
Ethan Crow, a Class of 2006 Marshalltown High School (MHS) graduate and father of five who serves on the nine-member MIAPA board of directors, told the T-R that each year's installment of the show features a different brand of vintage tractors, and in 2026, it will be the Ford, Ferguson and Leader brands.
"You usually get some different scenery with that, but there's some things that are pretty consistent year in and year out. If you come, you can experience and do all kinds of different things. Depending on when you come through the day, you could see three or four different things happening all from one place, basically," he said. "You can watch a sawmill run off of a steam engine. You can look down the way and you can see a steam engine running a threshing machine threshing oats. You can watch horses dig potatoes with a little horse drawn potato plow, and we do plowing, tractor plowing and some horse plowing."
This year, the YL-37 "Flying Memorial" Vietnam-era helicopter based out of State Center will be landing on the grounds and available for viewing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
"We've got a lot of veterans and a lot of that era of people that really enjoy the show, but I'd love to see anybody and everybody, not just the older people, enjoy the show," Crow said.
He noted that all five of his kids will be attending, and they especially enjoy the homemade ice cream made onsite by 100-year-old engines. A kids tractor pull will also be held for the youngsters.
"There's no such thing as a time machine, but when you can go and your senses can experience from the sights and smells and feeling of that steam engine running that could've been 120 years old or more, you can really get a feel for what American agriculture went through 100 plus years ago," Crow said. "My kids love it because there's something to see or hear or smell or feel or do."
And the event reiterates the importance of remembering history to help people appreciate where they are now, especially as it relates to advances in agriculture. A full schedule of events can be found at miapa.org or on the organization's Facebook page, and general admission for the whole weekend is just a flat $10.
In addition to the usual events, a Maytag engine swap meet will be hosted throughout the weekend, which, as Crow put it, ran your great grandma's washing machine.
Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.