Carnival & Fair News

  As reported by the Showmen's League of America, Dale Merriam, owner of Merriam's Midway Shows passed on July 4, 2025 at the age of 86.Dale was a Showmen's League of America Past President and had attended SLA banquets since the early 1950s when they were held in the Sherman House Hotel in Chicago. He was president of the SLA in 2014, the league's 101st year. At his presidential banquet he gave his outgoing address from horseback, dressed as Buffalo Bill Cody which was a memorable moment for everyone in attendance. Dale grew up traveling with his father's company, Merriam's Midway Shows. After high school, he pursued an education in engineering at Iowa State, achieving a PhD in the field. During what he referred to as his "Lost Decade" away from the carnival industry he worked as an engineer for such companies as McDonnell Aircraft. When his father decided it was time to sell the carnival, Dale stepped up to take over the business. He ran Merriam's Midway Shows alongside his wife ...   [read more]

  On Tuesday, the senate passed President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" and is currently pending final review by the house.  Despite efforts by the Seasonal Employment Alliance (SEA) to get their proposed H-2B Certified Seasonal Employer Designation language included, the bill, ultimately, the Senate did not include any visa or workforce related provisions, including Trump's Golden Visa. According to the SEA, "We always understood that the effort to include H-2B in the reconciliation was an uphill battle, but we are always going to make a push to get H-2B included in any moving legislative vehicle."Reportedly, one of the major opponents of including any H-2B relief in the bill was Senator Grassley of Iowa. According to Grassley, the bill was intended for the President's priorities and absent White House direction, he would not include the language in the bill. OABA's P-4 Visa Push The OABA issued a statement to its membership on Wednesday to clarify that their ...   [read more]

  Recreation By Design announces several staffing changes within the company starting with the promotion of Marcus Colon, who has been promoted to sales territory manager. Prior to this promotion, Marcus was the team lead in the warranty department where he gained valuable knowledge of operations, customer service, parts & warranty, and inventory."Marcus has been a dedicated teammate who has worked tirelessly for us for nearly 4 years to make sure our customers are taken care of. He takes great pride in understanding our customers, how critical it is for them [our customers] to get back to their vacations or their work assignments," says Andrew Rush, managing partner of RBD. Marcus will fill the position vacated by the recent retirement of Johnny Martin, who was Sales Manager and had been with RBD for nearly 35 years. Marcus will be responsible for fulfilling trailer needs for the harvester, traveler, and amusement industries.   Recreation by Design, a 3rd generation ...   [read more]