(Radio Iowa) – An inclusive playground that any child can use was unveiled as the Iowa State Fair opened Thursday. State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation executive director Jim Cownie says they worked with Variety the Children’s Charity of Iowa to build it. “We have a wonderful partnership with variety of Iowa. We raised the money together to create this new playground on these historic fairgrounds. We spent over 700-thousand dollars to bring this new playground to you today,” he says. Cownie says eight-year-old Kinsey Hagerman is the reason for the playground, after she called them out.

“They wrote us an e-mail last year of how our playground was not accessible to all. We want everything to be accessible to all here at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, and we would not be here today, we would not have this wonderful project were it not for you Kinsey,” Cownie says.

Variety the Children’s Charity inclusive playground at the 2025 Iowa State Fair

Cownie says it is an agriculture-themed playground that celebrates Iowa’s farming heritage. “It was a labor of love for the Iowa State Fair, the Blue Ribbon Foundation, our fair board. We are honored to be able to do it, and it was so much fun to be able to put this together, to watch it come together and to see kids being able to play on it in the last week or so since it’s been finished have been absolutely fabulous,” Cownie says.

The playground is located near the Fun Forest east of the Agriculture building, and will be open year-round.