Amid the dizzy whirl of rides and the sticky-sweet scent of funnel cake, a different kind of challenge unfolds on the Iowa State Fair midway. Here, behind rows of basketball hoops and balloon-popping booths, couples, friends and families gather for a ritual as old as the Ferris wheel: the quiet, unspoken pressure to win a plushie.

Some chase the comically large bananas, some settle for a fidget spinner and others leave clutching nothing but their pride and a story.

On Friday, Aug. 8, with the sun glaring above the carnival, the competition was on.

'He set the bar low already'

In the thick of it stood Kyle Runyon, giraffe plushie in hand, with Katie Swedeman by his side.

“Was there pressure for him to win?” Swedeman considered for a second, then shrugged. “I would say no, because he

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