State Fair taking donations to rebuild Big Tex

DALLAS – The State Fair of Texas is taking donations to help build a new Big Tex.

The 52-foot-tall cowboy and fair icon for 60 years burned this year due to an electrical short. The fire left charred remains and twisted metal.

Fair organizers have vowed to build a new Tex, but it won't come cheap.

Fair spokeswoman Sue Gooding tells The Dallas Morning News that the cowboy was insured for close to $200,000 -- well short of the estimated $450,000 to $600,000 a rebuild will take.

So the fair launched a donation page on the website, bigtex.com.

Gooding says Big Tex will now come with a fire-suppression system and no guide wires.

Officials expect designs next month and hope to start building the new Tex at the end of January.

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