CHEROKEE, Iowa (Iowa Media Wire) — Hooting and hollering could be heard from miles away in Cherokee as hundreds of people showed up for opening day of the 58th annual Cherokee PRCA Rodeo.
Gates opened at 4 p.m. on Thursday at the Cherokee County Fairgrounds. Despite the rain, guests were flooding in, eagerly waiting to see professional rodeo cowboys do their thing.
Of course, a rodeo isn’t a rodeo without a clown. Allan Dessel, hopped in the ring for his fifth year at the Cherokee rodeo. He said putting on the makeup and making people chuckle is a great feeling.
“Just making people laugh, you know, for two hours I get to make people laugh and forget about their job, and forget about the dishes in the sink, or the laundry that’s in the laundry room,” Dessel said. “They just get to have fun with me.”
Iowa senator Joni Ernst even made a quick stop at the rodeo and rode the mechanical bull.