The Fair was held in Muscatine in 1856–1857, Oskaloosa in 1858–1859, Iowa City in 1860–1861, Dubuque in 1862–1863, Burlington in 1864–1866, Clinton in 1867–1868, Keokuk in 1869–1870 and 1874–1875, and Cedar Rapids in 1871–1873 and 1876–1878.

There are 4-H, Future Farmers of America (FFA), and open-class shows for sheep, swine, beef and dairy cattle, horses, goats, llamas, rabbits, poultry and dogs.

Contests include rooster crowing, hog calling, wood chopping, pie eating, monster arm wrestling, outhouse racing and cow chip throwing.

The Butter Cow, an Iowa State Fair staple since 1911 when J.K. Daniels sculpted the first one,[9] is located in the Agricultural Building.

Pratt's 2023 butter sculpture featured iconic Iowa athletes Jack Trice, Kurt Warner, and Caitlin Clark.

While the stated goal of the contest was to dispense advice for healthy family living, some believe that it was also an outlet for the promotion of eugenics.

Other meat-on-a stick products include pork chop, the most endemic food at the fair, given the state's status as the country's top hog producer, and a bacon-wrapped hot dog dipped in a cornmeal batter.

Grateful Dead played the Grandstand on 6/16/74, with part of the show being released as Road Trips Volume 2 Number 3.

Bill Riley's Iowa State Fair Talent Search debuted in 1959 and features Iowans ages 2 to 21.

Other past entertainment includes a plane intentionally crashing into a model of a house, a circus elephant, and a human cannonball.

Officers work year-round, providing services to the State Fair and other events held at the Fairgrounds.

People arrested at the Fair are booked on site, and transported to Polk County Jail by Des Moines Police Department and the Iowa State Patrol.