Will Iowa State Fair be same without deep-fried Twinkies?

DES MOINES, Iowa – The fate of deep-fried Twinkies on a stick may be tied to the financial future -- if any -- of Hostess Brands.

On Wednesday a judge in New York could decide whether the bankrupt company can shutter its operations.

The decision 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 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."