DES MOINES – Local 5 has been bringing you the sights and sounds on display at the Iowa State Fair all week – and now we’re showing you what goes on just outside the fairgrounds.
Some people who live near the festivities say they are making the most of the fair by making bank.
Parking at the Iowa State Fair can sometimes be hassle. The lots can get crowded and it costs $10. That is why some homeowners who live near the fairgrounds are continuing their tradition of selling parking spots right outside their doorsteps.
Vince Cooper puts yet another car in his makeshift parking lot in his back yard.
“Well I’ve been doing it 16 years,” Cooper said. “I like giving a good deal. Families show up here. When they go to that fair, they get their wallets drained already, so why hit them first?”
But why does he want cars to park in his yard?
“One it provides a service for the, our area in the fairgrounds, and the other one because of the cash,” Cooper said. “I mean it’s about money isn’t it?”
It really is. Cooper charges six dollars for each spot, and with dozens of spots, multiple cars a day and eleven days of the fair – that can add up to thousands of dollars.
And Cooper is not alone. With the help of his grandkids, this tradition is becoming a family affair.
“When he’s like in need of drinks or food, I bring them to him,” said Philena Crooks, Cooper’s 14-year-old granddaughter. “And then when he needs to go inside and cool off, I park cars for him if his lot isn’t full.”
Help also comes from across the street from Cooper’s neighbor Connie Cage, who also transforms her yard into a parking lot.
“If he’s eating dinner of goes in the house for something then I’ll watch out for him and park his, and he does the same for me,” Cage said.
And although it can be tough directing cars in the summer heat, Cooper says giving up his green lawn for the kind of green he can spend is all worth it.
“I take two weeks off from work to do it, you know, so I just like meeting people, giving them a place to park, that’s about it,” Cooper said.
Cooper and his neighborhood are only two of the several people turning their yards into parking lots. But they say they have the best price at six dollars, versus their competition, which charges nearly ten.
