If you have sent in a registration form for the 2012 Tractor Ride and did not include your email address we need you to send it to us.

We plan to communicate with you via email…this blog area…and news through the Big Show with Mark and Bob.  Turtle service will only be used as a last resort.

Please send us your email address by sending us an email to pamlee@clearchannel.com.

If you filled out that portion of your application (Thank you) you do not need to send us email .

Have a great day!

The announcement is out!  We're headed to Centerville Iowa!  See the navigation to the left for a route map, driver application, safety pledge and everything else you need to get rolling in our 2012 ride.  Make sure you send in both pages of your application, which includes the safety pledge.

We look forward to seeing you this year!

We will be broadcasting the Tractor Ride announcement with LIVE video below.  The tractor ride application will NOT be posted until the announcement is made.  Be listening to The Big Show and Check back around 11:45am.  To listen live to the big show CLICK HERE.

Come early!….January 27, this Friday to have a great Lunch at Machine Shed and listen to the announcement of the 2012 WHO Tractor Ride location….. Get your seats early as we anticipate a big crowd…Big Show will start at 11:30 a.m. and the announcement will be shortly before Noon.   A special Thanks to our Announcement Party Sponsors Titan Tire and Machine Shed.  Skip and Jane will be there from Titan Tire to visit and tell you about their plans for Sunday during Registration.  We will also be visiting with many of our other Tractor Ride Sponsors throughout the Big Show.

New this year!...Bob Quinn will be doing his Morning Ag Show from Machine Shed so come eat breakfast with Bob, from 6 a.m. - 9 a.m.  Bob will have registration forms with him but questions can be answered after 10 a.m. when the registration table is set up.

If you are unable to attend on Friday, registrations sheets can be downloaded and mailed.  Please go to www.whoradio.com and then click on Info…under Info you will see Tractor Ride, click on Tractor Ride and then click again on the registration sheet.  If you have any questions please call 515-245-8900.

Mark your calendars!.....The date has been set for January 27th and the location will again be with our Friends at the Machine Shed in West Des Moines.  Mark Pearson and Bob Quinn will begin the Show at 11:30 a.m. so come early to get your seat.

Thanks to Titan Tire (Skip and Jane) for Sponsoring the Announcement Party as well as Machine Shed. The Shed will be offering some WHO favorites for lunch so bring your appetite and don't forget your checkbook/cash.  We will be accepting registrations at the Machine Shed from 10 a.m. - 1p.m.  Registration forms will be available at the Machine Shed starting at 10 a.m. and also on line starting at 11:30 a.m. under "registrations" on the Tractor Ride Homepage. 

Returning and New Sponsors  for the 2012 Tractor Ride include…John Deere, Titan Tire, Machine Shed, NuMark Building Corporation, P and H Engravers, Farm Service, Concept of Iowa Hearing Aid Center, Farmers National, Valu-Bilt, Iowa Diecast Toys and Dale Howard Motors.  More Sponsors to be added throughout the next few weeks.

See you all at the Machine Shed!

- 2012 Tractor Ride Staff

Bob Quinn and a great group traveled around Lake Rathbun on Oct. 6th.   The day was beautiful, the route was picture perfect and the hospitality and food was superior.  Thank you to our Sponsors: Titan Tire, Sigourney Tractor, and Quality Ag.

Mark your calendar for the next Fall Ride in 2012...the first Thursday in October.

Watch for details on a "Winter....Why are we doing this"...tractor ride in December. Sigourney Tractor and Titan Tire are already getting warmed up.

The Annual WHO Tractor ride has new dates so mark your calendar for June 24-27, 2012.

Mark your 2012 Calendars for the 2012 Tractor Ride on a new weekend, Sunday June 24th through Wednesday the 27th.

Bob's fall tractor ride has been set.  Please download and share this info sheet.  View Document 

To participate in the Fall Color Tour, please complete this application: View Document

After many months of planning and few washed out roads this week we have a final copy of the WHO 15th Tractor Ride.  

WHO RADIO GREAT IOWA TRACTOR RIDE COMES TO NORTHWEST IOWA FOR FOUR DAYS!

(Des Moines, IA)  The tractors, 537 to be exact, are coming to Northwest Iowa on June 19 - 22 for the WHO Radio Great Iowa Tractor Ride!  With more than 750 participants, and another 400+ family members, this event promises to get people talking TRACTORS!

“We are really excited to use Spencer as our home base this year,” said Janine Van Vark, one of the many coordinators of the event.  “The people here have been absolutely fantastic to work with and have made us feel like we are at home and a part of their community.”

The WHO Radio Great Iowa Tractor Ride will begin on Sunday, June 19th.  Tractors will be parked on Sunday at the Clay County Fairgrounds with registration and evening meals at the Regional Event Center.  According to Van Vark, tractors and participants will begin rolling in sometime around 8 AM and continue arriving throughout the day.  “Sunday is our gathering day, where the participants register, and get their tractors shined up and ready to roll on Monday morning.”  We encourage the public to come and look over the Tractors, visit with the Drivers and look through our Sponsor display area.

Monday, June 20
Spencer to Lost Island for a break, then on to Laurens for Lunch and to Gillett Grove for an afternoon break

Monday, June 20 the tractors start rolling at 6:30 a.m. toward their lunch stop in Laurens.  “We’ll roll tractors out every 20 - 30 minutes on Monday morning.  We find that putting some space between the groups helps with traffic control on the highways,” Van Vark said.  With eight total tractor groups, Van Vark hopes to have the last tractors leave the Clay County Fairgrounds around 10:30 a.m.

The beauty of Northwest Iowa begins early, with a morning break in Lost Island at the Nature Center. Tractors will then continue on the road going south to arrive for lunch in Laurens, at the Methodist Church.  The first of eight groups will arrive at 11:00 a.m. by coming into Laurens from the east, by Jack Links.  Our afternoon will lead us North to Gillett Grove with the local FFA Chapter serving snacks.  Each group will take a 30 minute break and head back to Spencer for the evening meal at the Clay County Regional Event Center.  Tractors will start arriving back at Clay County Fairgrounds around 4 p.m. with the last group arriving at 5:45 p.m.

Van Vark encourages the public to come out and view the beautifully displayed tractors Monday night at the Clay County Fairgrounds.

Tuesday, June 21
Spencer to Terril for a break, then to Dickinson County Fairgrounds in Spirit Lake for lunch, and stopping in Everly for an afternoon break

On Tuesday, June 21, tractors begin rolling out of the Fairgrounds at 6:45 am, as they head toward the town of Terril.  Tractors will take over the town as they have breaks between 8:40 a.m. and 11:50 a.m.  From there it’s on for a drive around the beautiful Lake Okoboji area. Traffic will be periodically stopped by Highway Patrol from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. from the corner of Linden Drive and HWY 71, while tractors drive on HWY 71 to get to Lakeshore Drive.  A quick restroom break  will occur at the Pikes Point State Park before arriving in Spirit Lake for lunch at the Dickinson County Fairgrounds. Lunch will be grilled up by the Dickinson County Cattlemen.  Tractors will start arriving for lunch at 11 a.m. and continue through 1:40 p.m. Van Vark anticipates the trip around the lake and lunch to be a great experience for all the Drivers. The afternoon will include driving down Hwy M27 to the City Park in Everly for a snack and brief break.  The first group of Tractors should be returning to Clay County Fairgrounds around 3:50 p.m. with the last group coming in around 5:35 p.m.  WHO Radio welcomes the public to come take pictures and visit with the Drivers.  A Special WHO Tractor Pull will begin at 7 p.m. and is free to the public to come and watch.  Only Tractor Ride participates may compete in the Tractor Pull.

Wednesday, June 22
Spencer to Linn Grove, then to Peterson for Lunch, and brief stop in Royal before ending our 2011 ride in Spencer

537 Tractor Drivers will begin their last day of the 15th WHO Tractor Ride from the Clay County Fairgrounds. We begin pulling out in our 8 Groups at 7:30 a.m.  We head south on the third day to the Linn Grove Community for our first break.  We will back track a few miles, due to road construction, to our Lunch site of Peterson.  The folks in Peterson will serve the Tractor Drivers a great meal of Pork and homemade Ice Cream. Tractors will arrive in Peterson between 11a.m. through 1:40 p.m.  After Lunch it ‘s on to Royal for a brief break and snack, before arriving back in Spencer to load up and head for home.

“WHY” a WHO Tractor Ride?

Now that you have all of the information, you may be wondering WHY a Tractor Ride?  We all come together for four days of fun, fellowship and a celebration of Iowa’s rich agricultural heritage. We hope to make a positive impact in your  communities, and perhaps bring a smile or encourage an old childhood memory. The Drivers might not see each other, or even talk to their Tractor Ride Buddies again until next year, but for the hundreds that participate, it’s become an annual family “tradition“ that is looked forward to every year.  That is “WHY” WHO Radio has continued this event for 15 years.