ABOVE: Chairman Peter Engstrom and Secretary Jane Lintelman sit at a disability info booth during the first Disability Day at the Martin County Fair in August 2024. The committee will be holding a fundraiser for next year’s event this coming week. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – The success of the first Martin County Fair Disability Day is leading the Fairmont Human Rights Committee (HRC) to make it a yearly event.

For a day, the Martin County Fair offered free entrance and rides to those with disabilities. Committee Secretary Jane Lintelman said she got the idea from the Clay County Fair in Iowa.

“They have had a disability awareness day for many years, and it was very successful,” she said. “I [thought] ‘Maybe we could do that?’ I patterned it off Clay County’s. They were helpful in giving me the information they had. The Martin County Fair Board was excellent. They were right on board right away.”

Lintelman said the event’s intention was to attract as many people as possible to the fair who otherwise wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. Chairman Peter Engstrom said around 160 people participated in the event, and they received very positive feedback.

The committee had two months to get everything together for the first iteration. Treasurer Pat Kietzer said they will benefit from having more time to plan and accumulate funds for the event.

“We want to add more money so not only people with disabilities get in, but their staff gets in free as well,” Kietzer said. “We wanted the Ferris wheel and ended up getting the fun house. We’re hoping to get the Ferris wheel ride and another ride that would be free to the people for at least an hour or so.”

Committee member Jerry Miller said ensuring better access to handicap-accessible restroom facilities is also top of their priority list. This includes porta-potties and bathrooms big enough for assistants of disabled people who help them use the facilities.

A fundraiser for Disability Day will be held at McDonald’s on Wednesday, Dec. 4 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Committee members will be helping with lobby and curbside services, and 10 percent of the profits from that time will go toward next year’s event.

Miller said events like this are especially important for them, as Fairmont’s Human Rights Committee has not been able to establish itself as a non-profit yet.

“That is a long, expensive process,” he said. “We can’t go out and ask for funds from a lot of businesses right now because they want to donate to a nonprofit. If a person is in need and we want to help them, it’s pretty much coming out of our pocket right now.”

Though it is a committee, they are currently not a part of the city government. Miller said the group seeks to assist any who feel discriminated against or uncomfortable with their position in the community.

“To make Fairmont a place where everyone can lead lives of dignity and joy with equal opportunity,” Lintelman said.

The committee meets at 11:30 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Fairmont.

For more information, call Peter Engstrom at 507-848-4414 or email peter.g.engstrom@gmail.com.