Happy Wednesday!

🌧️ Weather: Chance of showers and thunderstorms, then mostly sunny, with a high of 88 and a low of 70.

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Des Moines members Dylan Lyons and Heather Ann Roe!

Today's newsletter is 763 words — a 3-minute read.

If you want the hottest new fair food but don't want to wait an hour in line, you can get it delivered to you.

Why it matters: If you're willing to spend extra, the new service gives you some fair time back, so you can gaze longer at the butter cow.

Driving the news: EatFuti, a local delivery company, is sending 100 food runners to retrieve orders and drop them at designated pickup spots within the fairgrounds, the company's Savannah Nguyen tells Axios.

• The service fee starts at $3.99 and changes depending on how much food someone orders.
• People can order food from 30 participating vendors through the EatFuti fair site.

What they're saying: "Everyone is always waiting in line for so long when it comes to fair food," Nguyen says. "I had an issue last year with going to the fair and waiting in line for half an hour. I ended up just leaving and not trying the food that I wanted to."

How it works: An order placed on the EatFuti site goes directly to the vendor. When the item is almost ready, the vendor notifies EatFuti, which sends a runner to grab it and deliver it to the customer's chosen pickup site.

• The customer gets notified when their food is there.
• Pickup sites are near the giant slide, the administration building, the beer tent, the horse barn and the expo hill.
• People can also tip runners.

Zoom in: Participating vendors include Campbell's, Winn & Sara's Kitchen, and Barksdale's State Fair Cookies.

• Drinks and cold items like ice cream aren't available yet.

What's next: EatFuti hopes to expand its available food vendors for next year and branch out to other places, like the Minnesota State Fair, Nguyen says.

Rod Stewart’s Iowa State Fair Grandstand show has been canceled because of medical issues, fair officials announced yesterday.

The big picture: The cancellation removes one of the fair’s biggest acts, just three days before Stewart was scheduled to perform.

State of play: Fair officials are searching for a replacement act.

• Tickets will be refunded.

Catch up quick: Stewart postponed his Sunday Cincinnati appearance just hours before the concert due to an “unforeseen but minor medical procedure.”

• Then, on Monday evening, Rocket Arena in Cleveland announced that his Tuesday show was canceled, with doctors advising him to rest for at least 48 hours.

Flashback: Stewart, 81, also paused a June 19 show in Utah after appearing unwell and using oxygen onstage. He later told the crowd he had nearly fainted before continuing the concert.

Yes, but: Jason saw Stewart perform on July 31 in New York, where he delivered a strong show and appeared energetic, less than two weeks before the recent disruptions.

Zoom out: This tour, which began in 2024, is billed as Stewart’s final large-scale tour.

• Its 2026 extension initially included 15 North American dates, beginning on March 13 in Connecticut and originally ending on Aug. 15 in Kansas City.
• The Iowa State Fair stop was announced later, and he now has concerts scheduled through September 2027.

What we’re watching: Whether the fair can land a replacement act big enough for the Grandstand on short notice.

🏨 A Des Moines nonprofit plans to convert two extended-stay hotels into housing, aiming to add more units quickly amid ongoing affordability pressures. (WHO-Radio)

📱 Polk County is asking a court to block a public-records request from the Register seeking text messages from former county official Tom Alessio Jr. Alessio was fired last month following "substantiated multiple allegations of inappropriate behaviors and conduct," per a termination letter. (Des Moines Register)

📚 Des Moines Public Schools is holding public input sessions over its proposed three regional boundaries. Current students are allowed to stay in their school building, even if their boundary changes. (KCCI)

The name doesn't have the same "je ne sais quoi" as Kum & Go, but it'll do.

Go deeper: Pump & Pantry to acquire 21 Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh stores

🎸 Linh is listening to this in-depth interview with Billy Strings.

🥵 Jason is reading about how last month was the hottest on record in the U.S. since at least 1895.

This newsletter was edited by Chloe Gonzales.