Ag education theme of magician’s show | News

SPENCER—Learning how agriculture works is usually a scientific pursuit, but for Mike Klee, it’s a kind of magic.

Klee is a magician and a Discovery Stage performer at this year’s Clay County Fair, doing his free shows at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. daily Sept. 10-18. He’s got a 4 p.m. slot on weekends too.

“They keep me hopping up there. I love it up in Iowa, love it up there,” Klee said.

The Virginia magician’s 40-minute act teaches about agriculture while keeping things lively with an all-new slate of tricks.

“We get school kids bused in during the week and the other part of the week is adults and family,” Klee said. “It’s a family-friendly show that’s good for any ages. I structure so everyone comes away with something from it.”

Dubbed the “Awesome Ag Magic Show,” Klee did not want to spoil anything for this year, but he used an example from his 2021 fair performance. While discussing the production process in the poultry industry, he transformed a rubber chicken into a live, very flustered bird.

His word for describing the show: “ag-citing.”

A full-time magician, Klee performs around the country but usually doesn’t travel that far from his home in Richmond, VA. The Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer is the farthest of his regular bookings since his first visit in 2013.

“I love working with the group there,” Klee said.

And fairgoers seem to love the show back. Klee recalled numerous children recognizing him from previous years.

“We have a great time, and I have a great turnover of people coming back. That’s why I love it. The coolest thing is when kids come back and they remember that stuff,” he said. “If you ask them my name, they won’t know who it was, but they’ll know the facts from my show.”

Klee’s shows don’t merely focus on agriculture as a whole; they incorporate the specifics of each locality. A show in Kentucky will include horses. An act on the coast could teach about ocean life. And for Iowa, the Virginian knew his stuff.

“Fairs and agriculture go hand in hand. That’s what it’s about,” Klee said. “We talk about where Iowa stacks up in all 50 states, and Iowa is pretty good about most of them. They’re No. 1 in pigs, No. 1 in soybeans and No. 1 in ag-related jobs. Iowa is really a long way above other states.”

As someone performing magic professionally for more than two decades, he has traveled around plenty, but he said the Clay County Fair is always a highlight on his calendar. The balance between the learning and ag-citement keeps Klee — and his audiences — returning every year.

“It’s always presented in a cool and fun way. It’s something we hammer home with them,” Klee said. “We put in the education and the entertainment all in one big bundle and they all just absolutely love it.”