Would Iowa fair be same without stick Twinkies?

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The fate of deep-fried Twinkies on a stick is up in the air now that Hostess Brands plans to liquidate the company.

On Wednesday a judge in New York approved the bankrupt company's plan to shutter its operations.

The outcome matters greatly to Larry Fyfe, the concessionaire who introduced deep-fried Twinkies to the Iowa State Fair in 2003, a year after the concoction debuted at the Texas State Fair.

Fyfe told The Des Moines Register (http://dmreg.co/Qa2Cst ) that he sells up to 7,000 of them each year.

Fyfe says he hopes another company will acquire the Hostess product lines. He says using a knockoff cream-filled spongecake "would not be one of my first choices."

Hostess officials said Wednesday that other companies have expressed interest in buying the company's brands.

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Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com