Behold the 1,387-pound pumpkin that won the Iowa State Fair

Linh Ta

Outdoor festival with a giant orange pumpkin in the foreground. A man in a white shirt speaks into a microphone while another man in black holds a sign reading 1387 under a red tent; crowd and trees in background. — The giant pumpkin winner at this year's Iowa State Fair weighed nearly 1,400 pounds. Photo: Linh Ta/Axios

I don't do summer vacations. I don't do anything. I go to work and I come home and tend to these.

— Pete Casper, winner of the 2026 Iowa State Fair giant pumpkin contest

Winning the Iowa State Fair giant pumpkin contest is serious business, including tending to it at all times through heavy rains and high heat.

Driving the news: "Pumpkin Pete" and his daughter, Alba Casper of Peosta, won the contest for the second year in a row, hauling in a 1,300+ lb. behemoth.

😆 Linh's thought bubble: My mistake was going on RAGBRAI and leaving my punks with Jason!

The other side: Jason says Linh's lil’ pumpkin had big problems LONG before he arrived with shears in hand.

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Behold the 1,387-pound pumpkin that won the Iowa State Fair

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