Alexia Baker recaps eleven days at the Iowa State Fair, where she taste-tested nearly 80 new foods and drinks for her viral "Where's Alexia" series. She shares her top three finds, behind-the-scenes moments with fair vendors, and how the project became more about community and evangelization than the food itself. Plus, a look back at a record-breaking single-day attendance at this year's fair.
Alexia Baker joins Bo Bonner and Deacon Mark Campbell to recap eleven days at the Iowa State Fair, where she launched a new social media series tasting her way through nearly 80 new foods and drinks for 2026. Alexia's top three picks: the Cajun Cluck and Chaos sandwich, the affogato at the Biscuit Bar, and a peanut butter and jelly corn dog. Along the way, she got behind-the-scenes looks at how vendors like The Depot (dirty sodas) and Campbell's (corn dogs) run their operations, and connected with fairgoers who followed the "Where's Alexia" series throughout the run.
Alexia reflects on how the series grew into something bigger than food reviews — a chance to build community and meet people where they are, echoing this year's record-breaking fair: Saturday alone drew an all-time single-day record of 30,654 fairgoers, with 2026's final attendance expected to land just behind 2024's all-time record of 1,182,682 fairgoers.
Catch the full "Where's Alexia" video series and follow Iowa Catholic Radio at @iacatholicradio on Instagram and TikTok, and Iowa Catholic Radio on Facebook. Find the Iowa Catholic Radio booth at the fair each year near the Bill Riley Stage.
Heard on the Catholic Morning Show, weekdays at 7 a.m. Central on Iowa Catholic Radio. More at IowaCatholicRadio.com.
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