Fort Madison highlight of week ahead
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The cities of Fort Madison, Iowa, and Lewiston, Idaho, are separated by some 1,750 miles, but this weekend the two venues will serve as meeting points for those looking for big paydays.

The Fort Madison Tri-State Rodeo kicks off the week on Sept. 5, with the four-performance rodeo scheduled to conclude on Sept. 8. The Tri-State Rodeo offers $10,000 in added money per event and had a purse of more than $135,000 in 2007. Stock contracting companies Cervi & Guidry Rodeo and Cervi Championship Rodeo are providing livestock in Fort Madison, which is located in extreme southeastern Iowa on the banks of the Mississippi River, just miles from the Illinois and Missouri borders.

The Lewiston Roundup gets cranked up on Sept. 7 for the first of three performances in this town located in northwestern Idaho at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. The rodeo, which concludes on Sept. 9, features livestock from Flying Diamond Rodeo Company, formerly Frank Beard Rodeo, of Ellensburg, Wash. Last year’s Roundup had a total purse of $144,265 and this year again offers $10,100 in added money per event.

Lewiston served as the state’s first capital before later moving to Boise.

Both events are former stops on the summer Tour, Lewiston in 2000 and Fort Madison in 2001.