Fair officials now laugh at the notion of cash payments for sprint car races at the Red River Valley Speedway.
"We don't do cash anymore," fair association president Kyle Anderson said at a recent board meeting, explaining how he scratched out lines allowing cash payments in a proposed contract with a sprint car league.
Bruised by a recent audit that found lax controls in the use of cash - and routinely undocumented cash transactions - several fair board members said in a recent interview that a no-cash policy is one of several steps they're taking to tidy up their accounting system.
"In terms of implementation I expect that everybody is going to be buying lots of pencils and lots of paper to make sure there are receipts, and there will be no erasers on the pencils," fair association attorney Jonathan Garaas said.
On Monday, Cass commissioners will ask Anderson to explain the fair's next steps before the county distributes $104,400 budgeted for the fair this year.
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"We'll just want to know what type of improved stewardship they will have on the funds that people and different organizations entrust with them," said Vern Bennett, County Commission chairman.
Some changes, such as reviewing financial statements and requiring board member approval for checks, were made even before the fair received the results of an audit and a performance review that recommended major changes to the fair's internal operations. Widmer Roel, the firm that conducted the audit, continues to work with the fair, Anderson said.
Now the board's challenge is to follow through on the remaining steps - and make them stick.
"The good part about this time of year is we won't be handling any cash until April, so we have a few more months to have all those controls in place," Anderson said.
The fair association also is searching for a new manager. In December, the fair's nine-member governing board voted unanimously not to continue with Bruce Olson as manager.
"Obviously, we do need a good manager, a good people-person," Anderson said. "We need someone that can work well with employees, someone that can work well out in the community to get people involved again and work with the board."
The board set up a search committee and Great Plains Benefits Group to act as a headhunter. The Bismarck-based firm also conducted a performance review that found the board and management in need of employee and financial accountability.
Great Plains Benefit Group also may help the fair follow through on remaining recommendations from its report, such as board training, a mission statement and an internal code of conduct.
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Meanwhile, fair staff and board members continue to prepare for upcoming races and the fair.
Anderson wants the fair to be a reflection of the past - the way county fairs used to be.
"There's no question that we want the grounds to be full, all the buildings to be full," he said. "Weather permitting, we'll have a tremendous fair, there's no question about it."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Andrea Domaskin at (701) 241-5556 Forum reporter Patrick Springer contributed to this story.
