Does Red Oak have an identity crisis

I don’t ask that question sarcastically or literally, but more in a metaphorical sense.

What does Red Oak want to be?

Twenty years ago, there was an obvious answer to that question. Red Oak was a nice little community with a strong manufacturing base, blending in a robust agricultural business.

But today, much of that manufacturing base has eroded and dwindled away to nothing. The industries that have closed their doors in the last 20 years is a staggering list, shadowed only by the hundreds upon hundreds of jobs lost.

Today, city and county leaders are making a valiant effort to reclaim those lost jobs, with mixed results.

Mixed results might be too kind of a grade. We have replaced about 1 in every 10 jobs lost since the 1990s.

And if we are going to be honest about the situation, all signs point to  Red Oak, like many other small communities, never regaining the same industrial prowess it once enjoyed.

Some communities have very distinct identities. Some are destination towns, where people like to go for a vacation. Some are identified by a major industry in town, like the railroad, a prison, a university, or some other manufacturer. Others are simply suburbs to bigger, urban areas, while others are the only community within hundreds of miles, making it the hub of activity in that geographic area.

But none of those descriptions really fits Red Oak, and quite frankly, probably never will.

There is a key component for Red Oak to thrive in the future that is actually very similar to your own personal financial success: Diversification.

Red Oak is going to need to load its basket with several types of eggs. While we may never see the manufacturing base we once enjoyed, that is no reason to give up on job recruitment entirely.

While DirecTV call centers may be few and far between, it is vital we continue to aggressively pursue those opportunities.

And while Red Oak will never be a Branson, Mo., in terms of a tourist attraction, amenities such as the Wilson Performing Arts Center, Montgomery County History Center, and even Viking Lake, can make Red Oak a place to visit for at least a couple days.

But Red Oak’s most under developed asset has to be its ability to be a bedroom community to Omaha.

The longer I live in this town, the more convinced I become of how unutilized it is.

While Red Oak is an hour away from a major metro area, it still features many of the best parts of a small town, most notably, a ridiculously low housing market. A $150,000 home in Red Oak will cost two-to-three times as much in Omaha or Council Bluffs.

But the biggest obstacle preventing Red Oak from thriving as a bedroom community is the 60 miles separating us from Omaha.

While a cheap housing market is a draw, its appeal is greatly diminished by $4 a gallon gasoline.

However, Red Oak does have an asset that can counter balance that: the railroad.

Passenger rail service has slowly been phased out in Red Oak since the 1950s, ending entirely in the 70s.

However, the infrastructure remains. The rails are still here, as is the depot, and in fact, an Amtrak train passes by it on a daily basis.

While it would be great to get it stop here as well, the ideal situation would be to have a commuter service between here and Omaha.

If there was a viable, stable, commuter train service that could ship workers from here to Omaha, the growth opportunities for this community would be endless.

There is a million reasons this wouldn’t work, not the least of which is politics.

President Barack Obama has thrown oodles of federal dollars into light rail projects. However, many governors, including Terry Branstad, have rejected those dollars. Specifically, this past January, Branstad passed on $230 million that would help fund an Iowa City-Chicago railway. Illinois would have footed $45 million, with Iowa providing the remaining $20 million.

Regardless, the benefits of a commuter rail service would be undeniable.

And if Red Oak wants to distinguish itself from all the other small towns in Southwest Iowa scrambling to thrive in this changing economy, a direct link to Omaha would be a great place to start.

Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express, and can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com