2017 is coming to a close, and we've decided to take a look back and recap some of the most awesome stuff that happened in Sedalia over the past year.

New Businesses Opened and a Few Closed

Just like every year, you gain a few and you lose a few. Bing's closed late in 2016, but a new Woods opened in 2017. Buffalo Wild Wings, T.J. Maxx and Best Donut opened in Sedalia, but it was recently announced that Kmart will be closing by early next year. The store closing sale is already underway.

Record Attendance at the Missouri State Fair

The Missouri State Fair saw a record attendance on Saturday, August 12. The Fair estimated attendance on that day to be somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000. That was the night of the Alan Jackson concert, and the weather was just about perfect. That day was a lot of fun if you were at the fair, but it wasn't a lot of fun trying to get through all the traffic around the fairgrounds.

Lonestar at Tractor Supply

I've been on the radio for a good while, so I've been to a bunch of concerts for all types of music. I honestly think that the Lonestar concert at Tractor Supply was one of the most enjoyable shows I've ever seen. Really laid back. Tractor Supply was the sponsor of Lonestar's tour, so the award-winning group played a series of free concerts on the parking lots of select stores. Lonestar only performed ten Tractor Supply concerts, so Sedalia was really lucky to get one of those shows. The concert drew around 1,000 people.

Ice Storm Predicted...but Nothing Happened

And I was really prepared, too! Last January, a major ice storm was predicted to hit the area. There was talk that power could go out, and might even be out for some time. I had clothes and food packed and was certain that I was going to be stuck in the radio station, trapped with no hope of escape, for several days. We ended up not having any ice that weekend. It was cold and there was some mist.

A Raccoon Knocked Out Power to a Good Chunk of Sedalia

There was a power outage in May that caused several businesses and homes up to lose power for a couple of hours. We lost power at the radio station. What was the reason for the outage? According to KCP&L, the outage, which affected 2,400 customers, or about 40 percent of Sedalia's KCP&L customers, was attributed to a raccoon that found its way inside a substation. I'm guessing that was probably the last thing that particular raccoon ever did.

Tough Mudder Returns to Sedalia

The Tough Mudder made its debut in Sedalia last year. In October, the event returned to the Missouri State Fairgrounds. Year two was also a huge success, with over 8,500 out-of-market visitors coming to Sedalia for the Tough Mudder. The economic impact for the area is estimated to be around $2.6. Over 4,600 participants took part in this year's Tough Mudder.

We Got to Interview a Talking Dog

It's not every week that a Talking Dog comes into the radio station. Todd Oliver, a nationally known comedian, ventriloquist and entertainer who was a finalist on America's Got Talent, brought his “amazing talking dog," Irving, to the Heckart Performing Arts Center in Sedalia. Todd and Irving stopped by the station for a visit.

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