Barstool Personality ‘KB’ Wants the Key to Balltown, IA

You've heard the term "small-town famous" to describe someone who is very popular and relevant to a local community. That said, the small-town of Balltown, IA might've just gotten its biggest platform in years after becoming a talking point on a Barstool Sports podcast.

On an episode of Barstool Yak, a casual podcast hosted by Barstool mainstays Dan "Big Cat" Katz, Brandon Walker, and Kyle "KB" Bauer, the hosts got to opining about what it takes to get a "key" to a random city. You know, the kind of coveted local prize often awarded to characters in TV shows. I'm sure Homer Simpson has a key to Springfield somewhere.

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Balltown is Preparing Maybe its First "Key to the City:"

Big Cat, Brandon, and KB got to talking about the idea of obtaining a "key to the city." In the truncated clip that's been making the rounds on social media, KB initially thought he could get the key to Dubuque of all places. Unclear how eastern Iowa got to the top of their minds, but allegedly, per Big Cat, a conversation with Mayor Brad Cavanagh scheduled on the show was cancelled last minute.

So, the Barstool crew pulled up Google Maps to sniff around other towns around the Dubuque area in pursuit of a city's key. They were tickled by the name of one nearby Iowa town: Balltown, a town of fewer than 100 people. Low and behold, 30 minutes later, the fast-moving Barstool crew was able to tab Balltown Mayor Sherri Sigwarth for a live interview on the podcast.

Mayor Sherri Sigwarth hopped on with the Barstool crew. While she said she doesn't recall the city ever issuing a formal key to residents or anyone else, she said a conversation with her city council could make that happen. Unclear is the status of the creation of the potential first ever "key" to Balltown, IA, but the fact that Mayor Sigwarth seemed willing and able to get the ball rolling is promising in itself.

Even as a casual follower of Barstool myself, I always marvel at how they make little, ostensible "throwaway" moments effective, long-form bits of comedy. They go the extra mile. They want to make things happen. Sure, it's good content, but it also diversifies the portfolio of a company that truly started as a grassroots operation and has since grown to one of the most recognizable sports/lifestyle media brands.

Not to mention, for Dubuque and a tiny town like Balltown to get some play on a massive national podcast (the Balltown-centric episode has already racked up 118,000 views in five days) is awesome. Take a listen to the Barstool Yak episode in full here, or see the truncated clip on Facebook here.