On this day in music, July 28, 1987, 19-year-old Australian actress Kylie Minogue (known best at the time for her work in the soap opera Neighbours) released her debut single – a dance-pop version of Gerry Goffin and Carole King’s “The Loco-Motion,” which was first recorded 25 years earlier by R&B singer Little Eva. The track quickly topped the Australian pop charts, while in the US, it marked the third time that the frequently-covered song had reached the Top 3. The song’s global success led Minogue to sign with the London-based production trio Stock, Aitken, and Waterman, who masterminded her debut album, helping to transform her into the most successful Australian female artist of all time.
In 1960, Roy Orbison made his British chart debut with the groundbreaking operatic rock ballad, “Only The Lonely.” The song would soon become the first of three UK No.1s for the American singer-songwriter. In the US, it got stuck at No.2, behind Brenda Lee’s “I’m Sorry.” When Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers both turned down the song, Orbison, who co-wrote it, elected to release his own version.
In 1992, gangsta rap pioneer Ice T appeased angry law enforcement groups by announcing that his controversial song, “Cop Killer,” which he recorded with the LA heavy metal band Body Count, would be dropped from future copies of the outfit’s self-titled debut. The track resurfaced as a free single given away at Body Count gigs. Ironically, T (who was born Tracy Marrow) has since played a role as a detective in the NBC cop drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
In 2020, influential British monthly music magazine, Q, was published for the final time. First hitting the newsstands in 1986, it was the brainchild of journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who also presented the 80s BBC TV music show, Whistle Test.
In 2014, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their 13th studio album, Hypnotic Eye. A global best-seller, the LP stormed to the top of the Billboard 200 in the first week of its release, giving the band their first US No.1 album. Sadly, the Grammy-nominated title turned out to be the band’s final album, as Petty died in 2017.
In 2021, Dusty Hill, the 72-year-old singer and bassist of ZZ Top, passed away. Hill joined the long-bearded Texas trio (led by guitarist Billy Gibbons) in 1969, but it was after their third album, 1973’s Tres Hombres, that the band began to get noticed. In the 1980s, the blues-rockers achieved mainstream success, aided by eye-catching videos that received heavy rotation on MTV.
BORN ON JULY 28
1943: Rick Wright (Pink Floyd)
1943: Mike Bloomfield (Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Electric Flag)
1948: Gerald Casale (Devo)
1949: Steve Peregrin Took (Tyrannosaurus Rex)
1949: Simon Kirke (Free, Bad Company)
1965: Nick Banks (Pulp)
1974: Afroman
1986: Jacoby Dakota Shaddix (Papa Roach)
1990: Soulja Boy (Rapper)
The 2026 Meeker County Fair opens on Thursday and will continue through Sunday. Entry day for general exhibitors is tomorrow.
Meeker County Fair Board Treasurer Loree Schultz says the grandstand entertainment will include a tractor pull Thursday evening at 7, the Terri Clark concert on Friday night, a demolition derby Saturday at 5:30 and a truck pull at noon on Sunday. She says there’s lots of free entertainment each day in the band shell and in the tent by the beer garden.
Schultz says there’s a theme each day with Thursday being Military Day, Friday as Senior Day, Kid’s Day on Saturday, and Sparkle Day on Sunday so queens, princesses and a chaperone will be admitted free of charge – otherwise admission is $8 and free for kids 4 and under and for seniors 70 and older. She says there will be lots of events on Saturday for Kid’s Day and there’s a Ninja warrior course for kids at the Meeker County Fair this year.
Schultz says free weddings are going to be performed in the band shell on Thursday from 4-to-6, there’s a trout fishing pond, pizza and donut eating contests, cash drawings each evening, trolley rides, a horse costume contest, LAMP scavenger hunt, Lego contest, food vendors, a carnival and much more. She says you can go to meekerfair.com or to the Meeker County Fair Facebook page to find more details about events each day.
Schultz says they are selling some reserved seats in advance this year for the demolition derby, and you don’t want to forget to check out the schoolhouse in the far southwest corner of the fairgrounds. She says the streets around the fairgrounds received a fresh layer of pavement this year so it should be easier for wheelchairs, walkers and strollers to move around the fairgrounds.
The Schiefelbein Family of Kimball is Meeker County’s Farm Family of the Year. The Farm Families of the Year will be recognized at Farmfest next week.
Schiefelbein Farms was started in 1955 by Frank and Frosty Schiefelbein. Frank and Frosty raised their nine children on the farm. Currently, seven of their sons and six of their grandsons farm full-time at Schiefelbein Farms. The farm also has part-time help from their seven daughters-in-law, all 32 grandchildren and their spouses, and more than 40 great-grandchildren.
Schiefelbein Farms calves out about 1,000 registered Angus cows in Kimball each year. They sell around 500 bulls and females at their annual sale every February. They also run a feeder calf operation where they feed out 30,000 of their customers’ calves.
Frank and Frosty taught their children and grandchildren to serve their community. The family is active in the Kimball community, where they attend St. Anne’s Catholic Church, volunteer at Kimball sporting events, especially wrestling, and provide beef for community events. Members of the family have served in many roles, including on the township board, as a county commissioner, as chair of the Clearwater Soil and Water Conservation District Board, president of the Minnesota Cattlemen, president of the Minnesota Cattlewomen, president of the American Angus Association, and president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Farmfest is coming up on August 4 to 6 at the Gilfillan Estate near Redwood Falls.
A seal coat application will take place on Highway 15 from Hutchinson to Dassel beginning on Wednesday, July 29th. According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the project will take about 10 working days to complete, depending on the weather.
Drivers will encounter lane closures with flaggers and pilot cars directing traffic through the work zone. Expect brief delays and allow extra travel time. Use caution in the work zone and watch for crews and equipment. Allied Blacktop is the contractor for this $550,000 project.
