Building project planned at Cherry County Fairgrounds

VALENTINE, Neb. - A building project could soon be underway at the Cherry County Fairgrounds. During Thursday night’s Valentine City Council meeting, Cherry County Ag Society President Duane Witte said that the society hopes to enclose the pavilion at the fairgrounds to get more use out of it.

“I believe if it gets enclosed, there will be so many more events out there,” said Witte.

As News Channel Nebraska previously reported, the fairgrounds is planning updates as it prepares to host the 2025 and 2026 Nebraska High School Rodeo Finals. According to Nebraska High School Rodeo Association Secretary Jill Joseph-Austin, the event usually draws more than a thousand people.

“We don’t have enough facility to hold everything out there,” said Witte. “Hopefully we can have some things in the old Shopko building.”

To help fund the pavilion enclosure, the Ag Society requested that the city apply for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Tourism Development grant on its behalf. However, since the fairgrounds lie outside city limits, the council advised the society to seek support from the County instead.

The council did approve another request—closing the city’s shooting range to the public from June 7-10 to accommodate the rodeo finals.