2016 in review: We built this city

The year 2016 included many positives in commerce for not only Red Oak, but for the agricultural community. 

Not only was Junction Days a major community success, but later community events, such as Trick or Treat on the Trail, drew record numbers of attendees. 

Another brand-new community event was one that not only honored law enforcement, but brought them out for the public to meet and get to know. Attendees of the Red Oak’s first National Night Out in August got an inside look at the life-saving tools used by law enforcement, fire and rescue personnel, and emergency management, played a variety of games, and also got to dunk Police Chief Justin Rhamy, Fire Chief John Bruce, and other members of the fire department and law enforcement. 

Brad Baker was the organizer behind the event. With the negative publicity generated across the U.S. about law enforcement, Baker said the event was a  way for Red Oak to join with 15 other communities across the state who participated in similar events. 

“We’ll start it, and see what happens.  It shows we’re not all bad guys. It’s a relaxed environment. This is a community-building campaign to strengthen the ties and camaraderie in neighborhoods to make communities a safer and better place to live,” commented Baker. 

Red Oak Greenhouse

Also this year, the Red Oak Greenhouse announced a major expansion to its facilities. With the amount of flowers being sold to businesses around the area, general manager Bryce Johnson said they needed to grow. 

“The last couple of years we’ve looked at expanding. We’ve gotten to the point we need the space, our customers need more product, so that’s why we decided to add another acre to the facility to help ease getting enough product to our customers,” Bryce said. 

Plans called for the expansion to be completed this month. Red Oak’s downtown also saw some boosts in 2016, the first at the Grand Theater. In March, volunteer Shelly Bergren said they had started major renovations to add a new concession area in the lobby and generate more storage space. Future plans included adding a second screen, new restrooms that will be more ADA compliant, and installing new seating for the second screen.

“The current concession area will be turned into the ticket booth, and we’ll install a family restroom. The second screen will take much more time. It will probably be three to five years at least before we can begin that project. A projector alone costs close to $100,000, so it’s a lot of money we have to raise, ” Bergren said. 

2016 also brought a brand-new business to Red Oak’s downtown. Bates Tack & Saddle Sales at 601 N. 3rd Street officially opened its doors with a ribbon cutting on April 6. 

Owner Coby Bates said he’d opened a similar business outside of Clarinda, but decided the location wasn’t working, so he moved his operation to Red Oak. 

“After being near Clarinda for awhile, my wife and I decided it was more than time to start looking for a new location, and we found this building here and have been very pleased with it,” Bates said. 

Red Oak’s commerce also brought a positive response from Iowa Economic Development director Debi Durham, who paid a visit to the community on Sept. 23. Durham said Red Oak had many aspects that allowed it to stand out from other similar communities across the state.

“I think geographic location, when you look at how close you are to a lot of big commercial markets, that’s key.  You also have water. You cannot underestimate the power of water, particularly when it comes to manufacturing. You also have a very progressive city council, and engaged citizenry. When you put that all together, you have a pretty winning combination in my book,” Durham said. 

Harvest season was also strong for the farming community in 2016. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey said 2016 was a continued boom for the farming community in the state. 

 “It’s hard to get a great feel, but generally good yields. Most of the state will tell you they’re happy with soybean yields. We’ve heard there were very good yields down here. The corn has performed very well compared to five years ago. Now expectations are we should be in excess of 200 bushels per acre. Down here we’re hearing their yields are about like last year, but it’s still one of their best years,” Northey said. 

Northey added that the area also benefitted from avoiding some major storm damage that caused problems in other parts of the state. 

“The start of harvest season was delayed down here because of the weather, but for the most part, southwest Iowa avoided weather that hurt crops. Other parts of the state had a great soybean crop that got drowned out in September, or they had a river get out of the bank, like in north central Iowa, that devastated whole cornfields in some places. That may have happened down here in some places, but not like it happened in other places in Iowa,” Northey stated. 

John Pruss, the general manager of United Farmers Cooperative in Red Oak, said this year’s corn harvest was strong county-wide. 

“The corn yields have been around 180 to 200 bushes per acre, in some areas 210 bushels per acre is what I’ve been hearing,” commented Pruss.

There was even good news for Montgomery County’s proposed gun range. The range will be located a half a mile west of the Anderson Conservation area, and was awarded a $25,000 grant from the NRA. 

Montgomery County conservation director Will Horsley said plans were to have the excavation done this fall, and begin construction of the shooting range by this spring. Some of the features included at the range include a 100-yard rifle range, a 50-yard pistol range, two trap fields, and an archery course. Horsley said the main focus of the project is youth education, and to promote outdoor recreation and education to the local populace. 

“We want to see kids out of the house, outside, and enjoying this complex,” commented Horsley. 

Plans for a separate gun range in neighboring Page County have seen public outcry both for and against the range.  In Montgomery County, there has been little to no opposition. Horsley attributes this to the organizers’ transparency. 

“We’ve tried to promote this shooting range. At this point in the game, we’ve had a few questions about specific things, but no one has put their foot down and said they’ll do everything they can to stop this gun range. Looking at southwest Iowa, this is such a rich area of natural resources and outdoor recreation. I think this is something very well-received in Montgomery County simply because we’ve taken a very methodical and professional approach at constructing this. We’re ensuring we’re building a complex that will be extremely professional, well-operated, and safe. That’s our priority. A safe, outdoor experience,” Horsley said.

While there were triumphs for Red Oak’s commerce in 2016, there were also some disappointments. In September, Sauced Kitchen & Cocktails announced it would be closing its doors. 2016 also marked the closing of Spartan Staffing at 1000 N. Broadway. 

Representatives with Spartan said they were pleased with how they had been treated by Red Oak city officials, and enjoyed volunteering in the community, but that a company merger forced the closing of the Red Oak location.