On the Campaign Trail with Ed Tibbetts

Anybody who grew up in a small town knows how important the local grocery or gas station is. The big towns in Iowa, such as they are, can be hours away.

So maybe it’s not so unusual to see this: U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, took to the Senate floor yesterday to make a special plea to the Kwik Star gas station/convenience store chain to reverse its decision not to rebuild in New Hartford, Iowa, which is near Waterloo.

The town was heavily damaged by the tornado that ravaged several small towns in the area, most notably Parkersburg.

Little stores like the Kwik Star don’t just stock a town with gas and snacks, they’re also a part of the community, Grassley says.

He lists the names of the people who’ll lose their jobs and argues that Kwik Star shouldn’t abandon a town that’s as resilient as New Hartford.

After reading the remarks (they’re below) I got the feeling it was a speech you’d be more apt to hear at a state legislature or at City Hall. But think about it a little more and you’ll see Grassley’s words bring some of the real life concerns of small town Iowa to to the greatest deliberative body in the world.

Not such a bad thing.

Here’s the prepared text:

It’s been a tough and challenging time for Iowans over the past few weeks.  I’ve come to the floor on a few occasions already to update my colleagues on the natural disasters that have hit Iowa so hard. 

Tornadoes and floods have caused economic and emotional toil and pain, and have sadly taken 24 lives across the Midwest.

Just a mile from my farm is the town of New Hartford.  It’s a modest town of about 650 people.  On May 25th, the north edge of the town suffered extensive damage from a tornado. 

That same tornado destroyed half the town of Parkersburg, just 10 miles to the west, and continued damaging the towns of Dunkerton and Hazleton as it traveled east.

Then came the floods.  The town and residents of New Hartford were devastated by the flood waters of Beaver Creek.  Much of the town’s homes and businesses suffered damages from the floods. 

But, Iowans are resilient people.  The residents and the entire community are pulling together to help their neighbors and get back on their feet. 

But one resident is abandoning them.  Kwik Star has announced that the only gas store in town will not be rebuilt.

The decision by Kwik Star to not reopen their store is a serious set-back to the town of New Hartford. 

These folks have endured a tornado and a damaging flood.  But, they’re working to rebuild, pull themselves together and somehow get their lives back to normal. 

But, the one gas station and convenience store won’t be around during that rebuilding.  They view the damage as too great – too daunting to overcome.  This news has added another devastation to the residents. 

Kwik Star has decided it’s not in their economic interest to rebuild.  They can be better served by closing the store and focusing their efforts elsewhere. 

Well, their decision doesn’t sit well with the residents of New Hartford, and it doesn’t sit well with me.

As the residents are cleaning up their homes, parks and businesses, Kwik Star has decided to abandon them.  Kwik Star is hurting my neighbors and friends emotionally and economically. 

If they don’t see the value in rebuilding in New Hartford, why should the residents have any hope? 

These folks are doing everything they can to bring their property back from this disaster and rebuild their town, and Kwik Star is leaving them high and dry during this time of devastation.

It’s not just the emotional pain of their decision that hurts the people of New Hartford, it’s also economic.  Kwik Star employed 15 people before the floods. 

Three full-time employees, Deanna Ackerson, Brenda Smith and Barb Harper have each worked for Kwik Star for many years.

Twelve other employees, Cindy Huberg, John Mulder, John Anderson, Matt Winkelman, Rich Moore, Teresa Peverill, Carol Grooms, Lauri and Roger Palmersheim, Mitch Konken, Pam Hartema, and Heather Hugelucht, depended on Kwik Star for employment as well. 

The bottom line is that the residents of New Hartford are clinging to their hope that the town will come back even stronger than before these disasters.  They’re using that hope to get through this. 

But Kwik Star is dashing that hope.  Kwik Star is telling them that their town no longer deserves a gas station and convenience store.  One flood is all they can handle. 

If you want gas, milk, or bread, you’ll have to drive 10 miles to get it. 

I’m working in Congress to enact tax relief for victims of the natural disasters similar to what was done for the victims of the hurricanes in 2005. 

This includes expensing for the demolition and clean up of debris.  Another major provision would allow additional depreciation to greatly reduce or eliminate that business’ tax liability for the current year. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 9:44 am and is filed under On The Campaign Trail. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.