Carli Lyon Named 2026 Franklin County Fair Queen

HAMPTON – Carli Lyon, 18, of Ackley was crowned the 2026 Franklin County Fair Queen Thursday evening, during the annual coronation at the Van Wall Tent.

Lyon is the daughter of Brandon and Lori Hardman and Steve and Annie Lyon. She was crowned by outgoing 2025 Franklin County Fair Queen Abby Schoning, who reflected on her year of service before announcing Lyon as the new queen. 

Lyon will spend the next year serving as an ambassador for the Franklin County Fair and its communities. 

Before crowning her successor, Schoning thanked the many people who supported her throughout her year as queen. 

“I would first like to start with some much-deserved thank yous,” she said. “First, thank you to all of you for coming out to support these wonderful queen candidates. The support from family members, friends and all fairgoers means so much on this journey.”

She also thanked the Franklin County Fair Board, the fair queen committee and her family for making her year possible.

Reflecting on her reign, Schoning said serving as fair queen allowed her to grow both personally and as a representative of the county.

“Over the past year, through this crown, I’ve met so many new people, had so many wonderful experiences and grown so much as a person,” she said.

Schoning shared one of the questions asked of this year’s contestants. “Do you wear the crown, or does the crown wear you?” She said her answer was both.

“The crown wears me because through it, I’m connected to every single fair queen before me, and because it is something to represent that is more than myself,” Schoning said. “But I wear the crown because of my love for this fair and all of its people.”

Lyon brings a strong background in leadership, agriculture and community involvement to the role. Throughout high school, she served as class president, FFA chapter president and 4-H club president. She was also named Franklin County Beef Princess and the 2024 Youth in Agriculture Award.

Her FFA accomplishments include competing at the district and state levels in soils judging, livestock judging, agricultural broadcasting and extemporaneous speaking. She also performed with the Iowa FFA State Choir and earned the chapter’s Star Greenhand Award.

Outside of FFA, Lyon participated in National Honor Society, dance team, golf, tennis, speech, school plays, Battle of the Books, honor band, choir and FCCLA, where she served as a district officer. She is also active in St. John’s United Church of Christ, teaching Sunday school and volunteering during Vacation Bible School.

When she is not volunteering or participating in school activities, Lyon enjoys cooking, baking, sewing and quilting. She has earned numerous awards for her projects and said her favorite part of the Franklin County Fair is exhibiting her livestock and 4-H projects. She plans to attend Iowa State University this fall to study animal science.

Seven contestants competed for this year’s title. Maren Subbert of Hampton, daughter of Nathan and Kari Subbert, was named first runner-up, while Madison Heilskov of Hampton, daughter of Brandon and Patricia Heilskov, was named second runner-up.

Eva Dohlman of Hampton, daughter of Nathan and Lilianna Dohlman, received the Miss Congeniality award. Graciella Urbina of Hampton, daughter of Luis Urbina Jr. and Candice Woltjer, was named Miss Photogenic. 

Other contestants included Payton Hinders of Hampton, daughter of Tristan and Stephanie Hinders, and Adason Jean Hovey of Ackley, daughter of Christina Smith.

As the 2026 Franklin County Fair Queen, Lyon will represent Franklin County at the Iowa State Fair Queen contest, parades, community celebrations and agricultural events throughout the coming year, continuing the tradition of promoting the county and its annual fair.