One member of the historic Tonight Show is from Bay Ridge, New York. Another member of the Tonight Show is from Des Moines, Iowa, and he visited his home state during the Iowa State Fair!

Jimmy Fallon, the star of The Tonight Show is an East Coast native but his announcer/sidekick, Steve Higgins, is from Des Moines, Iowa!

Steve Higgins has written and produced Saturday Night Live since 1995 and has been announcing on the Tonight Show since 2014. He's been nominated for multiple Emmys and has had an incredible career in television and comedy. Despite his accolades in the entertainment business, his butter sculpture at the Iowa State Fair might be his favorite honor.

Steve Higgins Butter Sculpture

KDSM17 spoke to Steve when he visited the Iowa State Fair and he said it was an honor he wasn't going to miss.

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"If you’re from Iowa, being sculpted out of butter is pretty much...what other big honor is there? My first thought was I wish my mom could be here to see it. And the second thought was like, it’s surreal. "

Steve is from Des Moines, so while visiting the Iowa State Fair, he was also visiting where he grew up. He attended Roosevelt High School and he told KDSM17, that he "has fond memories of going to the Iowa State Fair as a kid, and is now happy to be back to make this memory with his family."

The Tonight Show

Steve has been working with Jimmy Fallon since 2009 and has been his announcer for the past 15 years. He got the opportunity to join Jimmy Fallon from their time working on Saturday Night Live together. He told KDSM17, he and Jimmy got along really well on SNL.

"Jimmy was a cast member when I was the head writer and producer and so we just got along so well. When the show started, he goes ‘Do you want to be my announcer?’ And I go ‘if it’s OK with Lorne [Michaels], it’s OK with me.’ And so 15 years later I’m still there."

Steve was able to make the trip back to Iowa because of the Olympics. The Tonight Show had some time off while NBC was covering the Olympics and had it not been for the Olympics Games, it likely would've been tough for Steve to make the trip.

What Iowa native is next?! Who do you want to see sculpted into butter at the 2025 Iowa State Fair? Maybe one of these celebrities will make the cut!