Karl Lawrence King was already a famous bandleader when the band committee from Fort Dodge's Commercial Club along with some members of the band invited him to come to Fort Dodge with the purpose of rehearsing and then conducting the band. He arrived on the 11th of September, 1920, and worked with the band the following morning. The Fort Dodge Messenger and Chronicle reported that the open air concert was a triumph from start to finish. Karl King was soon offered a one year contract which he accepted. Although this contract was never renewed, Karl held the postion for the next 50 years.  Karl King's first indoor concert in Fort Dodge was January 10, 1921.

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This is a view of the harness shop owned by Walt Engelbart's father-in-law, R.C. Beecher, who performed in the Concordia Band in the 1890's.  The upstairs room was originally used as a shop for making harnesses, but after ready-made harnesses became available that area was freed for use as the band's hang out and rehearsal hall.  Many musicians stopping through Fort Dodge knew that good company or a friendly card game could be found there.

One of Mr. King's first steps to raise the quality of the band after coming to Ft. Dodge was to secure the contract to play the music festival in Mitchell, South Dakota at the Corn Palace.  That was one of the largest music festivals in the Midwest.  Prior to 1905 this celebration was known as the Corn Belt Exposition. The Corn Palace itself was the center of the festivities. It is an auditorium building, redecorated each year both inside and out, with various designs and murals composed of dried split ears of corn, milo and other grain in its natural colors. Prior to 1922, the featured musical attraction almost every year consisted of a week's concert engagement by a leading band of the military type. In 1892, the first year of the exposition, Phinney's Iowa State Band was engaged. This was followed in 1904 by John Philip Sousa's band which performed a return engagement in 1907.  The U.S. Marine Band came in 1909, Patrick Conway Band in 1910, Liberati's Band in 1916 and that of Frederick Innes in 1917 and 1918. In some other years foreign bands on tour in this country were engaged, with those from Italy appearing to be favorites. The 1920 festival featured Hart’s Girl Band from Chicago.
 

The contract with King's Band for the six day engagement at Mitchell beginning September 26, 192l, totaled $5,000, but much of that money was utilized in brining in some of the best musicians from Chicago and Minneapolis to fill certain key positions in the King Band in addition to the regulars. The new Corn Palace auditorium (still the same building more than eighty years later) had only been completed earlier that same year just prior to the festival.  Mr. King wrote the New Corn Palace March, that was later published by Fillmore in 1923, for this occasion where seven thousand people were in attendance for each program.  The band was a big hit, and established itself as one of the most important musical organizations in the Midwest.  C.T. Grant is the tall baritone saxophonist in the back left.