Iowa State Fair looking into accusations that Steer ‘N Stein didn’t pay employees
(This article was updated to add new information.)
An Iowa State Fair official confirmed this week that the fair is looking into allegations that employees and vendors at a longtime fair concessions vendor, Steer ‘N’ Stein, did not get paid this year.
Steer ‘N’ Stein in the off season at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
Iowa State Fair spokesperson Mindy Williamson said Wednesday that fair officials began investigating after receiving messages on social media.
The stand, which serves beer, breakfast and burgers, has been a mainstay at the fair for 53 years. It was rebuilt after burning down in 1999, when it was owned by George Kranovich.
The current owners are Michael and Kimberly Krantz. Contacted by Watchdog, Michael Krantz, the former CEO of Adventureland in Altoona, issued a statement late Wednesday apologizing for delays in paying employees and vendors, saying the “failures (were) beyond our control.”
Krantz said technical flaws in his company’s payment processing system were the cause and that an internal audit is identifying the source of discrepancies. But he did not say when his employees and vendors will be paid.
He also said he had been threatened by an unidentified person angry about the situation.
“We are deeply saddened by the impact these issues may have had on the people who are crucial to our operations. We value the patience and understanding shown during this challenging period and are fully committed to resolving all payroll discrepancies,” he said.
He said employees and vendors will be reimbursed for any costs they may have incurred as a result of late payments.
“We are dedicated to rectifying these issues and implementing measures to prevent their occurrence,” Krantz said.
Families of employees say checks bounced
But employees and parents of employees said Krantz has offered too many excuses for the missing payments after Steer ‘N Stein took in thousands of dollars daily during the Aug. 8-18 fair.
Joel Kissell, who contacted Watchdog, said his 14-year-old son Maddox is among those who haven’t been paid. He said it was a first job for his son, who worked the cash register and food line at Steer ‘N’ Stein, earning $780.
Kissell said his son received a check, but when he tried to deposit it Oct. 15, it bounced.
Zach Wiese said his 14-year-old daughter Sophie worked at least five days at Steer ‘N’ Stein this year, earning $630. He said her check also bounced, with her bank charging her a fee for the insufficient funds.
The family, he said, contacted Krantz and the fair board, but Sophie still hasn’t been paid.
“It’s not a ton of money, but it’s big in her world,” he said. “She worked, she should get paid.”
He said the family heard from James Romer, concessions director at the fair, who contacted Krantz. But he said Romer told them he couldn’t force Krantz to pay up immediately.
Erich Hayes of West Des Moines, a 44-year-old instructor at Des Moines Area Community College, said he’s worked at Steer ‘N Stein for three years, including during this year’s fair under the new Krantz ownership. On a Wednesday night during the fair, he said, he was approached by a security guard who helped collect tips for Steer N Stein and told he had to leave. He said he was not given a reason.
Hayes said he later spoke with former coworkers, and one suggested he had been fired for bumping too many times into a female coworker. But Hayes said he’d done nothing wrong.
He said that on the last days of the fair, Krantz contacted him and said he would be sued if he communicated further with Steer ‘N Stein employees. Hayes said he eventually filed a report with West Des Moines police because he considered it a threatening phone call and wanted it to be in police records.
Two weeks later, he said, he got a check for $608.55 for having worked seven days. But he said the tips he’d earned were withheld.
He said he was paid close to $3,000 the previous year, and he didn’t cash the check because he didn’t think it was the right amount. Later, he said, he learned others’ checks had bounced. He said he does eventually plan to deposit it, but he wants to make sure it cashes.
Fair: determining next steps
Williamson, the fair spokesperson said the fair only recently learned about the nonpayment issues, and officials are gathering information to determine what the next steps might be.
“We take this matter seriously and are concerned that a vendor at the Fair may not be operating in an ethical manner,” she wrote in a statement. “The Fair does not manage or operate Steer ‘N’ Stein. Not operating in good faith would be a clear violation of the terms and conditions of their one-year contract to do business at the Iowa State Fair.”
Lee Rood’s Reader’s Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at [email protected], at 515-284-8549, on Twitter at @leerood or on Facebook at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog.
This story was updated to add a video.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Alleged worker nonpayment by state fair’s Steer ‘N’ Stein probed
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