2021 Progress Edition

2021 PROGRESS EDITION

Sunday, February 28, 2021 www.wcfcourier.com/progress | Waterloo | Cedar Falls

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pandemic swept the globe in 2020, leaving no community untouched, including the Cedar Valley. Perseverance has been the story of our community this past year as we made our way through unprecedented hardship and tragedy. This year’s Progress Edition highlights how our community pulled together in the face of loss, lockdowns and closures. It celebrates how businesses and industries pivoted to survive and thrive.

As we look ahead in 2021, we can proudly say we persevered. We endured. We kept moving forward. That is, and always has been, the story of the Cedar Valley.

INNOVATION

Educators ensure safe learning ANDREW WIND

W

andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com

ATERLOO — For the past year, social distancing has been key to a safe approach in education as people deal with COVID-19.

As students returned to in-person classes last fall across the Cedar Valley, parents had the option of virtual learning for their children. Schools developed plans for those who were physically present to spread out and separate students in a way that minimized risks.

Post-secondary institutions similarly set up classrooms with more space, moving some learning online.

But Hawkeye Community College’s dental clinic, as a learning lab for future dental assistants and hygienists, has continued getting in the face of patients since reopening June 15.

To do it safely, students wear personal protective equipment, taking precautions that are largely the same as what they’ve always done.

Masks, hairnets and face shields are routine.

An N95 respirator is necessary whenever they are exposed to aerosols, fine liquid droplets that can carry the coronavirus. That is particularly a risk when the air-driven tools used in the clinic are operating.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long recommended the measures for dental workers.

Emily Boge, who oversees the dental clinic and is

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CHRIS ZOELLER PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Payton Bamrick, a dental hygiene student at Hawkeye Community College, works on a patient in the dental clinic on Feb. 11.

“I guess if there’s a silver lining that came out of COVID, it’s that people are paying attention to infection control.” chairwoman of Hawkeye’s health sciences department, said the respirators are the only thing the clinic added to its requirements due to COVID-19.

“The CDC came out in 2003 with these recommendations,” she noted.

Many health professionals didn’t fully implement the measures and the general public had little awareness of them. “So, I guess if there’s a silver lining that came out of COVID, it’s that people are paying

attention to infection control.”

Other precautions are also taken before patients can be seen at the clinic, which is open to the general public.

When making an appointment, they go through COVID-19 pre-screening questions on the phone and again upon arrival at the clinic, where their temperatures are taken.

The waiting room has been expanded, with patients sitting in chairs that are 10 feet apart. Patients are rescreened if someone who had been seen on the same day contacts the clinic about a positive test.

Boge said the dental program “basically hit a giant pause button” on its labs in March due to the pandemic.

Classes began online March 23. When the Iowa Den-

tal Board gave permission in June to reopen for the hands-on training “then we had solid clinics and labs” until July 9 followed by student testing for certification.

“I’m grateful we’re still able to be in clinics,” said Abbey Shroyer, who will graduate in May from the dental hygienist program.

She noted, though, that “it has been kind of challenging” to get as many patients for the students to work on. COVID-19 restrictions have kept students from other hands-on educational activities, including in some classes.

Online learning remains a challenge. “I think the Zoom classes have been the hardest,” said Shroyer.

She was relieved to have gotten vaccinated along with her classmates as es-

sential medical workers.

“We’ll get our second round soon,” she said. “So, I’m pretty excited about being totally covered.”

It’s not only the dental clinic and labs where Hawkeye students have continued coming to campus for their learning. That has been important across all career and technical programs.

“What we’ve done is all of our hands-on courses have remained in-person,” said Dione Somerville, the college’s executive vice president. Classes that have moved to virtual learning during the past year have “always been more of the liberal arts, lecture-based courses.”

Hawkeye has embraced a “variety of options to meet the needs of all our students,” she noted.

Those who are in person use masks and physical distancing. There are also hybrid classes, including both in-person and online.

Other classes have been virtual when needed.

Some students are able to go completely to online learning due to life circumstances or concerns with COVID-19. So far this academic year, 17.5% of learning has been totally online.

At the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, 20% of classes are being taught fully online, which Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Patrick Pease noted is double the 10% typically offered.

Fully in-person classes still account for 72% of the total with the remaining 8% in a hybrid format.

Please see EDUCATION, Page H2

INNOVATION

H2 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

Education

Waterloo

From H1

Physical distancing has also been important at UNI, with seating capacity currently reduced to 20% in classrooms. That has sometimes meant moving courses to larger spaces to accomplish this.

The Waterloo and Cedar Falls community schools, the Cedar Valley’s two largest districts, have put in place and maintained a set of measures to ensure safety for in-person learning, as well. And many students in each district are learning remotely, but the number has decreased.

Waterloo Schools started the academic year with 2,800 of its 10,195 students in virtual learning. That number now stands at about 1,600, or just under 16%.

Cedar Falls Schools started with just over 900 of its 5,754 students learning virtually. Now there are 659 online students, which is about 11% of the total.

Changes have been made over time in how education is provided in both districts.

In Waterloo, students learn online through a curriculum created

by Edgenuity aligned to district and state standards. They are also assigned to a district teacher, who initially was to have a weekly contact with them and be available for other needs.

Eventually, a number of live lessons each week started being taught by teachers because “there were some concerns with the level of engagement,” said Kingsley Botchway, executive director of human resources and equity.

For in-person instruction in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, students have begun going to special classes like music and art rather than having that teacher come to their classroom. Teacher-led after-school clubs are being allowed in Waterloo, as well.

Teachers in both districts work with students who are struggling to engage with online learning, but those who are falling behind are asked to transition to in-person learning.

Waterloo Schools has sent a letter to families whose children have attended online schooling less than 50% over the course of

Demographic data reported as of July 1, 2019.

CHRIS ZOELLER PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Payton Bamrick, a dental hygiene student at Hawkeye Community College, works on a patient in the dental clinic on Feb. 11. the year. Janelle Darst, a spokeswoman for Cedar Falls Schools, said “it’s really taken on a caseby-case basis” when a student is asked to return to in-person learning.

Both Hawkeye and UNI said students have remained successful despite the greater use of online learning.

Pease said “there is no doubt that many students have struggled during the pandemic,” but overall they did well in the fall semester based on grade point averages. “The average GPA for all students, as well as for new freshmen, was about the same during fall compared to pre-COVID GPAs.” At Hawkeye, Somerville said a comparison of the average GPA this fall and the prior year shows “they really are in the same range.”

More students did withdraw from classes, but the number of students on academic probation remained the same and those with unsatisfactory grades declined.

Both institutions have temporarily modified course policies and faculty have made changes accounting for difficulties students face related to COVID-19.

There has been a cost to all of the disruption related to supplies, equipment, additional staffing and more.

“All told, we spent a little over $2 million,” said Dan Gillen,

Hawkeye’s vice president of administration and finance.

Pease said UNI spent $7.63 million on the new expenses. The university has also calculated lost revenues of $27.71 million due to such things as housing refunds, cancelled events and a decrease in enrollment.

State and federal aid has helped cover some of those expenses.

UNI received $3.81 million and Hawkeye got $1.7 million through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, half of which had to be used for direct assistance to students. Hawkeye also received about $85,000 in Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds and is seeking $350,000 from Federal Emergency Management Agency. Other money received by UNI includes $230,000 from the state Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund, $250,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and $40,000 from Iowa Homeland Security.

More recently, another round of federal relief funding has been received by both institutions. UNI got $8.27 million and Hawkeye got about $4.5 million.

With the state and federal aid plus $11 million in expense reductions at UNI, Pease said the net financial loss from the pandemic has been $12 million.

Exact costs incurred by the Wa-

Windows & Doors The Pella Showroom

Female 49.9% Sex Male 50.1%

Asian Hispanic 2.2% 6.9% Black 16.7%

Age Younger than 5 years 6.8% Younger than 18 years 22.9% Between 19 and 64

45.7%

65 and older 16%

Income & Housing Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander .4%

Race

White 74.6%

$47,327

$765

Median Median value Median household of ownergross rent income occupied units

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

terloo and Cedar Falls community schools weren’t available, but they have received two rounds of aid through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund of the CARES Act. Waterloo Schools received $2.6 million in the first round and $15.08 million in the second round of funding. Cedar Falls Schools got $337,361 and $1.78 million in the two rounds of funding.

None of the school districts and post-secondary institutions will make changes in their operations for the rest of this academic year.

They’re continuing to monitor the situation and develop plans for a new year next fall.

For some, decisions are starting to be made now about how classrooms will look and the need for

$117,400

Lee Enterprises graphic

online learning. That’s particularly true at UNI since some students will register for fall classes as early as March.

“We are planning to change our classroom spacing to 50% room capacity and keep other safety measures, such as increased airflow and enhanced cleaning, in place,” said Pease.

Darst said Cedar Falls Schools will continue to have a virtual learning option next fall.

The district has been approved as an online learning provider for students anywhere in the state and has been accepting applications for open enrollment. In addition, she said about 300 district students have expressed interest in continued learning online next fall.

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Business and Community Education www.hawkeyecollege.edu/IGNITE | IGNITE@hawkeyecollege.edu 00 1

INNOVATION

Sunday, February 28, 2021 | H3

MercyOne has many reasons to celebrate in 2021

The MercyOne Weight Loss Center and Bariatric Surgery team, led by Dr. Moiz Dawood

MercyOne, one of the largest health care systems in the state with more than 20,000 colleagues, including doctors and providers, celebrated its second birthday on February 1. This date marks the uniting of 420 care locations across Iowa and neighboring communities to come together to advance the health and well-being of all patients.

“Over the past two years, we have made incredible progress in connecting care and services across Iowa and surrounding states, working to fulfill our purpose for every individual we serve to live their best life,” said MercyOne President and CEO Bob Ritz. “As we embark upon our third year as MercyOne, we look forward to welcoming new patients to our circle of care and continuing to provide quality, compassionate care to all communities we serve.”

Two years ago, MercyOne announced its new brand and unified approach as a key step in connecting its many points of care across Iowa and surrounding locations. The consolidated health system allows enhanced statewide coordination of medical expertise to ensure consistent patient care experiences across all MercyOne locations.

It is through this work that MercyOne has been able to add two new services in Waterloo to provide local access to specialty care. Dr. Neil Mandsager, regularly located at MercyOne Perinatal Center in Des Moines, now visits

Waterloo once a week to provide maternal fetal medicine to patients in the Cedar Valley.

This specialty focuses on managing health concerns of mom and baby before, during and after pregnancy. By having Dr. Mandsager in Waterloo, pregnant women can conveniently access this service, eliminating the need to travel outside the local area.

Additionally, Dr. Dante Dali is now offering thoracic surgery. This focuses on treatment for diseases of the chest, including coronary artery disease and heart valve and vessel abnormalities.

Dr. Dali is usually located at MercyOne North Iowa Heart Center in Mason City, and now visits Waterloo regularly.

“This coordinated effort among regional MercyOne Medical Groups allows us to truly be one,” said Jeff Halverson, Vice President of MercyOne Northeast Iowa Medical Group, the physician network.

MercyOne recently relaunched its bariatric surgery program. Led by Dr. Moiz Dawood, weight loss surgery provides a unique opportunity to help treat and manage chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and in some cases can even cure those diseases altogether.

MercyOne’s surgical teams in Northeast Iowa have upgraded to the latest robotic technology using the da Vinci surgical system. This translates your surgeon’s hand movements in real

time, bending and rotating instruments while performing the procedure. Minimally invasive procedures with robotic surgery provide several benefits including smaller incisions, an earlier discharge from the hospital, faster recovery time and less pain medication.

MercyOne is celebrating re-accreditation of its Waterloo Cancer Center and Waterloo Breast Center, by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer and the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.

To earn accreditation, these programs must meet a number of quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process and maintain levels of excellence in comprehensive patient-centered care. MercyOne Waterloo Cancer Center is the only accredited cancer center within the eight-county area we serve, with both medical oncology and radiation oncology under one roof. MercyOne Waterloo Breast Center is also the only accredited breast center in the area, with breast surgeon Dr. Scott Stoeger located right in the center for your convenience.

We are additionally excited to announce the brand new MercyOne Rehabilitation & Wellness Center! This 14,000 square-foot center will provide a new home for outpatient rehabilitation therapies in addition to wellness offerings such as aerobics classes, weight room and exercise machines.

Sheri Purdy, manager of rehabilitation and wellness, looks forward to the future opportunities at the new space. “Along with being able to treat any kind of patient with orthopedic issue, we have the only two nationally-certified hand therapists in the Cedar Valley,” said Purdy. “Having a wellness center in the facility helps create such a wonderful continuum of health for our community.”

Outpatient therapies recently moved into a brand new MercyOne Rehabilitation & Wellness Center

At MercyOne, we build an expert circle of personalized care with urgent care clinics open seven days a week, more care locations than anyone, and telehealth visits with your doctor!

Schedule your visit today!

MercyOne.org 00 1

INNOVATION

H4 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

Auto dealers see drive in sales People look to vehicles to break pandemic cabin fever PAT KINNEY

For the Courier‌

‌WATERLOO — People are relying on the automobile as an emotional antidote to isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.

Local automobile dealers can attest to that.

With recreational and social options limited, and amid concerns about social distancing with public transportation or flying, people are going for a drive.

“People aren’t moving around,” said dealer Matt Halbur of Rydell Chevrolet in Waterloo. “They’re working from home, they’re not going on vacations and their automobile is that much more important to them. It’s our job to make sure they’re in a safe, reliable vehicle.”

Halbur and other local dealers said that early in the pandemic, many car owners were cautious, putting off preventive maintenance and delaying decisions.

“I don’t see many people avoiding the dealership like they did when we first started,” said Dan Deery of Dan Deery Motor Co.” I don’t think anybody likes it, but everybody’s used to it.”

But after that brief slowdown, sales and service business picked up, said George Cooley of C&S Car Co. “This summer was busy. It was fine. It was a challenge, but it was good,” Cooley said. “I would tell you overall, it was OK, other than that first quarter.”

C&S is a Subaru, Hyundai, Mazda and Genesis dealer with a large fleet of used cars that customers took advantage of during the pandemic.

“We saw people had issues with public transportation. We saw issues with car pooling. We know the airlines had their issues. I really believe there was a huge trickle-down,” Cooley said.

Initially, some people delayed maintenance. “And then it leveled

CHRIS ZOELLER, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Service Manager Jim at Rydell Chevrolet in Waterloo uses a sprayer to sanitize the inside of a vehicle after it has been serviced. and then it was fine,” Cooley said.

“We put Plexiglas (work) stations up first part of April. We have disinfectant stations in each department. And as time went by we made masks mandatory, and they still are.

I know there are people who are stand-offish to wearing a mask. I didn’t see it here.”

“Business really took a tumble in that first part of 2020 when that pandemic first took hold,” Halbur of Rydell said. “But then, in about June, it exploded. It exploded all over. It exploded in service, body shop, sales, our parts business. It was a really, really good second half of the year and it’s transitioning into 2021 as well.”

Social distancing and masking when working with customers “had become second nature,” Halbur said.

Service business remained steady. They began picking up vehicles in customers’ driveways for those who didn’t feel comfortable leaving their homes. The emphasis is on disinfection.

“The pick up and delivery has been huge for us,” Halbur said.

“It’s been above and beyond what we ever thought it would be. And I think it’s something we’re going to keep on doing in the future as well.”

If service technicians find something that needs repair beyond scheduled maintenance, they send videos customers can see on their computer or phone.

“Harnessing technology to take care of people was a big part of our existence though this whole deal,” Halbur said. It likely has become the norm. “People grow to expect it. It’s a different way of doing business.

It’s one of those things where you need to adapt.”

Some body shops saw an uptick in business after the August derecho. With shops full across central Iowa, business gravitated toward the Cedar Valley. Rydell is doing a $250,000 renovation and expansion of its body shop, Halbur and Rydell body shop manager Brad Vaughn said.

With local dealerships in Waterloo, Independence and a parts warehouse in Evansdale, Rydell’s workforce remained generally healthy.

“Between employees that actually had COVID or had a spouse, child or family member that had COVID and had to go on a quarantine of some time, we had maybe four to six at a time. We obviously worked with them, with their COVID pay, and made sure we kept

everybody else and the dealership safe, and kept them home.”

About 3% to 5% of their total workforce of about 190 was affected

by COVID. Similarly, Cooley said C&S hadn’t had any issues with absenteeism until a post-Thanksgiving spike that was felt countywide. ”They all came at once, and now they’re gone, and that was over two months ago,” he said.

The pandemic was a learning process for everyone.

“COVID is not something you really plan for,” said Todd Arenholz, general manager at Deery Bros.

Collision Center in Cedar Falls. “So we kind of evolved as more information was released.”

“Right away when it hit, everybody was kind of in a panic,” Arenholz said.

But they figured out how to take care of customers who couldn’t leave the house. Photos and other information can be submitted via computer for damage estimates and to make insurance claims.

“And then we offered free pick up and delivery for people who didn’t want to get out of their house,” Arenholz said.

Vehicles get sanitized, with the focus on high-touch areas like door

handles, mirrors and windows and door frames. All replacement parts are treated too. Customers and vendors do business by appointment and email as opposed to walk-in traffic to limit the number of people coming into the building.

COVID hadn’t affected the collision center’s workforce, with no diagnosed cases among staff through mid-January.

“We’re pretty proud of that, knock on wood,” Arenholz said. “I think we’re one of the lucky ones.”

Twenty-five people work at the collision center. “We’re pretty diligent about what we do.” Masks are required away from personal work space.

Business spiked as a result of the derecho, with motorists from Cedar Rapids and points south bringing damaged vehicles to be fixed. It has continued. “We’re booked a month out,” Arenholz said.

Dan Deery said the business flow at the dealership followed that of the collision center. “We lost a lot of business for about 45-90 days, probably. ... Maintenance work we saw really drop off because people said, ‘We’ll wait until this is over.’

Then after 60 days it went pretty much back to normal.”

Sales have been good, Deery said, almost outstripping the inventory.

“There was a shortage of inventory for a long time because of the manufacturers that were shut down because of COVID. ... And we still haven’t caught up.”

Technology had started to change the way cars are sold prior to COVID. “You probably started on the website or the internet and then came in after you found the car you wanted,” Deery said. We don’t see the walk-in traffic that we were used to back in my sales days.”

But at the point of purchase, people still want one-on-one contact with the dealer and the vehicle they are going to buy.

“Can you imagine buying a car over the computer without seeing it?” Deery asked. “People still want to see, touch, feel, drive before making a decision.”

MOVING FORWARD

TO G E T H E R BLACK HISTORY MONTH

R ACIAL EQUALIT Y FUND ND

PA R T N E R S :

CBE has built a culture of diversity and inclusion that spans beyond our employee-base because we are committed to building a better business, a better community, and a better country. We have partnered ed with the Waterloo Community Foundation to establish the Racial Equality Training aining Fund. This fund supports the Waterloo Police Department’s efforts to improve race relations in our local community and includes training aining in the following areas: •

Procedural Justice/Implicit Bias/Reconciliation Training

•

Critical Incident Team Training

•

De-escalation Instructor Training,

•

First Line Supervisor Training

DONATIONS TO THIS FUND CAN BE MADE BY VISITING:

https://www.wloocommunityfoundation.org/donate/waterloo-community-foundation-donation-form/

Enter Racial Equality Fund in the special instructions.

Please join CBE and the Waterloo Community Foundation in our commitment to keep moving forward, together together.

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INNOVATION

Sunday, February 28, 2021 | H5

Ravaged by pandemic Live entertainment continues to face challenges in 2021

AMIE RIVERS

amie.rivers@wcfcourier.com‌

‌D

ave Deibler remembers the last pre-pandemic show at Octopus: It was in midMarch, a fundraiser for the annual Cedar River Festival Group’s concert and kayak raffle, and Deibler had been watching the coronavirus pandemic slowly infiltrate other areas of the country with ease.‌ Yet here, in Iowa, the owner of The Octopus in Cedar Falls’ College Hill district was still able to host a packed house for live bands.

“I just remember feeling a little uneasy, ’cause there were quite a few people there. Which was a strange feeling,” he said.

Days later, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that bars and restaurants would have to shut down as the coronavirus pandemic began to infiltrate the state, and all other events were limited to very few people or were canceled outright.

Even then, bar owners and festival boards used to providing the live entertainment of the Cedar Valley thought the plug would only be pulled temporarily.

“Like most people, I was watching the news and, of course, not really understanding the scope or the size of what was headed toward us,” said Deibler.

As the weeks wore on, and as music purveyors watched coronavirus surges and two separate bar shutdowns rattle the Cedar Valley in May and November, some pivoted to online shows, to try to recoup some of their financial losses as well as help struggling musicians and acts, and to keep their patrons happy.

Nearly a year later, as the COVID-19 vaccine rollout begins, owners of live music venues across the Cedar Valley are working through the best ways to bring live entertainment back to the area, though they differ on how much and how fast.

“People were scared — they weren’t going to bars,” said Andrew Robeson, who owns both Kings and Queens as well as The Loft in downtown Waterloo — the last of which only opened a month before the first shutdown.

Now, he said, that’s changed: “We’re definitely seeing an uptick in business. But at the same time, we’re definitely not close to being normal.”

The day the music died‌

Robeson opened The Loft on Feb.

1, 2020, and saw good crowds for the four to five bands that played there that month and the beginning of the next, buoyed by an influx of customers coming to play in both the state dart and state pool championships held at nearby Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.

“We were opened for literally five weeks ... then shut down for two months,” Robeson remembered.

The Brass Tap in downtown Cedar Falls had a band booked every Friday night before the pandemic hit, plus on special events or holidays, said owner and manager Walter Burtis.

“When we first opened, we had so many comments on how nice it was to have music in downtown Cedar Falls,” he said.

Besides the weekly entertainment, customers could come in for bingo or trivia night, “congregating in large amounts,” Burtis said.

Now, The Brass Tap doesn’t even have a stage anymore: Burtis removed it to comply with social distancing requirements to keep his bar running.

“To be honest, it was very difficult,” he said. “But the most important thing is the safety. We just decided it was better safe than sorry.”

Deibler agreed that the shut down was necessary, but said like all business owners, he still needed to pay the bills and save for his son’s college fund. In the year leading up to March 2020, The Octopus had put on 95 shows, trivia nights, salsa nights and other events, he said.

“That was really at the core, the function we served as a neighborhood bar,” he said.

And he initially thought it might last a little while, before coronavirus would be eradicated and life would go back to normal in a few months.

“When something like the pandemic happens, you don’t know anything — there’s nobody you can talk to that’s still alive that can tell you what that’s like. There’s no reference for it,” Deibler said.

Outdoor live entertainment series, like Cedar Falls’ Live to 9 and Waterloo’s Friday’loo, canceled show by show until late July, when it was clear the restrictions on outdoor gatherings would persist.

Sturgis Falls in Cedar Falls tried postponing their multi-day festival, but finally canceled in early August, noting the board was “heartbroken.” Iowa Irish Fest, held annually in downtown Waterloo as one of the largest festivals in the area,

CHRIS ZOELLER PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Dave Diebler, owner of The Octopus on College Hill in Cedar Falls, stands behind the sound system. similarly held out as long as they could before canceling.

“The factors for cancellation are not unlike the many reasons everything and everyone else had to in 2020,” said fest director Chad Shipman.

on bars, that customers came back in an “outpouring of support” for his places.

“We’re very lucky,” Robeson said.

“I don’t think we would have survived if we would have gone much longer, for sure, being shut down.”

Slow restart‌

Music of the future‌

Some venues, like Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, were able to pivot to streaming and summertime outdoor shows in pods.

That’s also what Deibler tried at first, bringing in solo acts or socially-distanced bands to play in front of a camera, and charging ticket fees for those who watched the streams.

“What I learned about streaming is that I don’t really care for it,” he said, calling it “so removed” from an actual live show. “It’s one thing to be sitting on your couch and stream. It’s another thing to be streaming an empty club.”

It made him realize what got him into the business in the first place: The “live” of live music.

“I’m not interested in shows without the audience component,” he said.

Deibler said if it weren’t for generous patrons kicking in money for a GoFundMe at a critical time last year, plus small business grants from the government, The Octopus might have gone under.

“Never up until this happened had I received any government money,” Deibler said. “I certainly reflected on it. I believe there’s a role for government in times like this.”

Robeson said even though Reynolds lifted alcohol restrictions and allowed bars the ability to serve cocktails to go, he didn’t think it would work.

“Who wants to come to the bar and buy a six-pack of beer when you can go to Walmart?” he said.

And Robeson said he was glad to see, when restrictions were lifted

Festival organizers remain hopeful, particularly in light of Reynolds removing all social distancing guidelines in February, that their festivals will go on this year — and that festival goers will also return.

Shipman said Iowa Irish Fest would hold its first organizing meeting in March; they last met in June. But he said it wouldn’t be clear for a few months if the festival would go on as planned.

“I think by May 1 we would be better prepared to understand moving forward for 2021’s Fest on how it affected us economically, entertainment and attendance challenges, and how we are going to move forward,” he said.

Venue owners like Burtis, who haven’t yet brought back bands, are similarly optimistic.

“Most certainly, it is our hope that we can bring back live music,” he said. “But I will not move forward until more people are vaccinated.”

Others, like Robeson, are taking their cues from patrons.

“I would say a lot of people are more comfortable going out now,” Robeson said. “There was this really big surge where it seemed like everybody had it at the end of the year, and everybody kind of said, ‘Well, everybody had it — let’s go out.’”

The Loft is back to a “normal show schedule,” said Robeson, though chairs and tables are still few and far between. And Kings and Queens has gone back to hosting two drag shows once a month on Saturdays.

“We’ve gotta protect our employees, protect our customers,

and I think we’re doing the right things there,” Robeson said. “We need money.”

Even though he doesn’t personally care for streaming to an empty club, Deibler is looking into streaming all of The Octopus’ shows, when shows do start to happen again, for people who are far away or unable to come to his bar.

And, he said, the pandemic has given him the opportunity to reinvest in things like rebuilding his stage, improved lighting and PA system, and more outdoor seating — if he can navigate the red tape that goes along with such seating.

“I think it’s an extremely dangerous time right now to be spending a bunch of money, but I do see a need to maybe refocus a few things,” Deibler said.

He noted he was just glad to be “paying our bills” by keeping the bar side open.

“That’s a success right there,” he said, noting other businesses didn’t fare as well. “I have really tried to not be too hard on myself.”

Burtis thinks Reynolds lifting restrictions on places like his “makes businesses the bad guys, rather than her,” noting he thought it was a bad idea to tempt people to gather when coronavirus was still so widespread.

“We all know COVID’s not gonna go away this year or for some time, but there will be a point in time when people don’t have to live in — and I think ‘fear’ is the wrong word — but they won’t be so cautious,” Burtis said.

And when they do, Deibler hopes they come back out for shows.

“We’re close to the end of times for live music venues — we’re dropping like flies,” he said, noting even big, regionally known places like The Mill in Iowa City closed after almost 60 years in business.

“That’s a gut check.

“My hope is we can take a deep breath and say, ‘Yeah, this is worth saving.’”

Restaurants wade through shutdowns, guidelines Owners navigate COVID-19 guidelines, financial hurdles and changing environments SYDNEY CZYZON

sydney.czyzon@wcfcourier.com‌

00 1

‌WATERLOO — Her dad’s funeral was days earlier. She was newly pregnant with twins and feeling sick.

It was St. Patrick’s Day when Jeani Johnson, 38, got the same news as other Waterloo restaurant owners. In-person dining was suddenly halted by Gov. Kim Reynolds as an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. She would miss out on one of the biggest money-making days for eateries and bars.

She initially felt hopeful for the year to come. But with the abrupt closure came creeping anxiety.

Around the time Johnson was able to re-open her restaurant, Highway 63 Diner, she soon lost her fatherin-law to suicide.

Johnson’s “brave face” hid the fact that she was experiencing the most difficult time of her life, she said. She kept working, sometimes for more than three weeks straight.

Differing guidelines about COVID-19 measures from national, state and local officials made it difficult for her to please all her customers. Some felt worried to dine in, while others urged Johnson’s

CHRIS ZOELLER, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Alex Hottle, owner of Verve Kombucha Kitchen & Bar, stands in the dining area of his establishment in downtown Waterloo. staff to take their masks off.

“It was just every day watching the news and seeing what the new proclamation would say or what restrictions were for that time or that day,” Johnson said.

She wanted to please every customer. She wanted them all to feel like family. After all, community members kept her restaurant afloat, carrying her through the pandemic with increased to-go orders. Highway 63 Diner got more orders than it expected, and sometimes, it felt like more than the staff could handle.

But it was nearly impossible to keep everyone happy.

“When you’re a small business owner, you get a lot of people that are not always so nice and are not always so understanding,” Johnson said.

Johnson made the decision to require masks for all her staff members, heighten cleaning measures and only seat guests in every other booth for distancing. She feels lucky none of her staff got COVID-19.

Across town, 65-year-old restaurant owner Deb Youngblut and her husband got COVID-19 at the same

time in July. Their daughter eventually got the illness and was hospitalized for severe complications.

None of her restaurant staffers got the virus, she said.

Her restaurant, Southtown Bar and Grill, is trudging through COVID-19 with a too-small staff and little help from government funding programs. She finds herself working from open to close, clocking 16-hour days and still not making enough money to cover all the mounting bills.

Southtown had to pause its usual breakfast offerings. Youngblut, who always opened the restaurant for early-morning diners, deeply misses the camaraderie of her customers. She formed close relationships with them during her nearly four decades at the restaurant.

She used to watch her whole front room fill up for breakfast.

People would line up at the door Saturday mornings.

Now, she sees her regular customers dine alone at later hours, their spouses gone after contracting COVID-19. Cleaning, plexiglass dividers and required masks are part of the new normal.

She thinks back to March, when COVID-19 began spreading rapidly in the United States — a time when she hoped it wouldn’t be that bad.

“But once it started spreading, it was kind of catastrophic, to be honest with you,” Youngblut said.

“I just hope everybody gets back up and running and people get to work.”

Alexander Hottle, 26, found himself navigating the pandemic in the early days of his business, Verve Kombucha Kitchen & Bar. The establishment opened in August 2019 at the Cedar Valley Riverloop Public Market space.

He was lucky enough to have a large patio for outdoor seating.

It became a hit for diners during warmer months, giving them safe distance from one another and peace of mind.

But Hottle and his co-owners knew they needed to do more to weather the financial challenges posed by COVID-19. It spurred them to create family meal subscriptions, which allowed people to pick up four weeks worth of meals from the restaurant.

“I’m ready to get back to normal, but if this is what it is, then we’ll keep following the rules and we’ll keep doing it,” Hottle said. “We just want to make sure that the people that have supported us this whole time feel safe coming here.”

As long as the restaurant’s mission remains fun and nourishes people, Hottle said he will keep pushing ahead. He wants Verve Kombucha to continue being a downtown destination that attracts both Waterloo and broader Iowa residents.

“We’re going to be able to get through it,” Hottle said. “It’s a season we hope to look back on and say, ‘Hey, that season was tough, and we’re really glad that we made it through.’ I think it brings our team closer together.”

INNOVATION

H6 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

Creating a

new normal

CHRIS ZOELLER COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Staci McConville, a team leader at Veridian Credit Union, works on her laptop in her office area at her home in Waterloo.

Employees pivot to home offices as businesses enforce working remotely ANDREW WIND

andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com‌

‌W

ATERLOO — As COVID-19 pandemic concerns grew last March, many companies grappled with the need to protect their staff while continuing to operate.

For those in an office, that often meant a move to remote work.

At least two Cedar Valley-based companies – Veridian Community Credit Union and VGM Group – responded quickly as they tackled the effort to move all or many employees home.

Remote work wasn’t much of a focus for Veridian a year ago.

“Back in March of 2020, Veridian had 834 employees throughout Nebraska and Iowa,” said Shawna Matz, vice president of talent development. “We had approximately 10 employees that worked from home – so 1%, not a big number.

“Between March 13 and 30 we transitioned 600 employees to work from home,” she noted.

That was 72% of Veridian’s workforce, including any employees “that weren’t member-facing. So our call center, accounts resolution ... any of our support areas, they went home.”

Credit union branches at Hy-

Vee grocery stores closed at that time for anything but drive-up service, moving many of those employees home, as well.

“We did have a pandemic plan, you know, a business continuity plan,” said Matz. “We had started those conversations and we just moved quick.”

VGM moved even faster, getting nearly all of its more than 1,000 employees across the country set up remotely.

“We ended up doing it in three days,” said Jeremy Kauten, VGM’s chief information officer and senior vice president of information technology. The effort happened March 16-18 after a planning process the previous week.

Initially, planners were talking about four weeks, then three, before realizing it had to happen faster. But the company had a head start.

“Fortunately for us, about three years ago we had come up with an idea, kind of our human capital strategy,” said Kauten.

The company began developing a mobile workforce that would allow employees to work from home or other locations outside of the office 100% of their time.

Last March, 15% of staff worked from home and VGM had

the capacity for another 35% to make the move. The company had already invested “several million” dollars on needed mobile technology like cloud phone systems, webcams and online communication platforms. But with increased or upgraded equipment needed for the other half of the staff, the company repurposed some items and got started ordering additional laptops, mini computers, headsets, server hardware and more.

“In spite of the preparations we had made, this was easily the largest IT effort in the history of VGM,” said Kauten. Employees who needed equipment to work at home were divided into three groups that participated in a curbside pick up on different days.

The company has downsized due to the pandemic. The elimination of 58 full-time and 15 part-time positions were announced in April. Another 17 people were offered transfers within the company, extended furloughs or accelerated retirement.

Veridian has not eliminated jobs, keeping people on whose duties were temporarily reduced.

During the first three months of the pandemic, “we paid $224,000 to our employees in relief pay,” said Matz. “We also paid front line pay to our employees for a period of time (who) did continue to go into the branch” where they worked.

& beauty

In addition, the credit union deferred $7.5 million in payments and $1.7 million in fees for members.

Matz said Veridian had some equipment on hand but needed to order a lot, as well. Communication was important to the effort. And once the equipment was available, people needed to be instructed on how to set themselves up at home.

“Everybody moved with a sense of urgency, a great team effort,” she said.

As a team lead in Veridian’s 120-employee member contact center at the Cedar Falls industrial park, Staci McConville already had the capability to work from home. Those she oversees needed equipment like headsets and laptop computers. Instead of sending phones home, the company switched technologies so workers could get calls through the computer.

She started working from home March 24, spending the first three weeks in the living room, dining room or screened-in porch. As the remote working continued, though, “I thought having an area separate from where I live still in my house was going to be best for me.” So, McConville moved her office to an upstairs room with a built-in desk that had been installed by a previous homeowner.

She noted that Veridian provided a great work environment in her regular office setting, so there have been some adjustments with team members.

“Not being able to see them face-to-face has been a challenge,” said McConville. However, employees have adapted by holding “a lot more meetings with our team” over videoconferencing platforms.

She has gotten used to the change, particularly on cold winter days. “The 30-second walk up to my office has been enjoyable,” said McConville.

Jeff Kaplan, a technology consultant with expertise in working remotely who lives in Waterloo, said many factors can get in the way of a successful virtual office.

Those range from correct and appropriate use of equipment to interpersonal issues and career advancement concerns.

“Basically, we can help them to learn how to operate effectively in an environment that doesn’t involve four walls,” he said. Kaplan is chief operating officer and founding partner of LIFTinnovate, a company that has worked with 400 major national corporations since starting in 2014. “Across the board, no-

body’s doing it perfectly.”

But a common theme among those companies is a belief that “we will never go back to the way it was,” he said. They may end up with a hybrid approach with more shared office space or flexible scheduling where people can work from home some days.

That has an impact on the physical space that a company provides for employees – and a financial benefit. “We’ve freed up over 15% of the cost of doing business (for LIFTinnovate clients) by not expanding real estate,” said Kaplan.

Veridian has slowly brought some staff back into its facilities. On June 1, traditional credit union branches reopened, reducing the number of people working from home to 500, or 59% of the workforce. Starting Dec. 15, HyVee branches reopened reducing at-home workers to 400, or 45% of the workforce.

The company has grown during the past year, as well, and now has 899. About half of the growth has taken place in northeast Iowa.

Where remote workers go from here is “something that we are currently evaluating,” said Matz.

“We’re not going to return employees to the office prior to July 1.

“We have a corporate initiative where all of that is being discussed, we just haven’t reached a final decision.” She noted that “some staff can’t wait to get back and other really enjoy working from home. ... I think getting their feedback will be important.”

Kauten said today about 10% of VGM staff are working in a company facility. Its remote workers also report a mix of benefits and challenges with the arrangement.

Recently, it has allowed the company to operate at full capacity during winter weather that usually keeps some people home and away from their work.

“Pre-pandemic, we were considering ways to find more office space,” said Sara Laures, VGM’s chief people officer. “We thought strategically about building and/ or leasing space, and even reconfigurations of our existing space to allow for more capacity.”

But the changes the company has gone through in the past year have had a long-term impact on capacity needs, even as recent acquisitions have positioned it for growth.

“We anticipate that 50% of our existing jobs will likely be able to be done from home, while the other 50% of jobs will need to be done in an office setting,” said Laures.

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INSPIRATION Sunday, February 28, 2021 | wcfcourier.com | 2021 PROGRESS EDITION

CHRIS ZOELLER COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Steve Nurse of Cedar Falls, left, and Joanne Hawkins of Hudson load groceries into a customer’s car on Feb. 2 at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo.

Serving the underserved Northeast Iowa Food Bank adapts to ensure residents have access to food MELODY PARKER

‌W

melody.parker@wcfcourier.com ‌

ithin 48 hours in mid-March 2020, the Northeast Iowa Food Bank converted its operation from the client-choice pantry and mobile pantries to curbside service. While the switch may have appeared seamless to the public, the transition required preparation and advance planning that began weeks earlier as the coronavirus pandemic made its presence known in Iowa.

“We knew in early March it was coming our way, and we would need to be prepared. We talked internally about what we needed to do, how things were going to change, additional Prather resources we would need, and how the operations would change in volume and food distribution,” said Barb Prather, executive director.

The Food Bank made offers of technical assistance to the agencies and pantries they serve in 16 counties. The Iowa Department of Human Services waived the signature required for Emergency Food Assistant Program Eligibility which allowed pantries to give more people access to food as safely as possible, Prather said.

Last year, the Food Bank saw a 20% increase in the number of families it serves through its programs since the COVID-19 pandemic, including curbside pick-up, mobile food pantries, the Backpack Program for children, elderly nutrition programs and food for 200 nonprofits’ meal programs. One Friday in November, the Food Bank served 300 families in three hours at the drive-up produce pantry.

Before the pandemic, 43,000 Northeast Iowans didn’t have enough to eat. In 2020, an estimated 52,000 people were considered food insecure, or 1 in 7 people amounting to an additional 9,300 Northeast Iowans.

“Our goal is always to make sure Northeast Iowans have access to

00 1

NEI FOOD BANK PHOTO‌

National Guard members pack cereal boxes onto a pallet at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. food and that we have the resources and operation in place to make that happen,” she explained. “But this has been different with the pandemic.

There is always chronic hunger and food insecurity, but as businesses closed their doors and people were laid off or lost their jobs, we had situational hunger occurring. People needed help who had never used our services before, and they felt embarrassed to ask for any help.

“When those things happen, there is real fear. We are here as a resource so their families don’t go hungry, and it’s one less thing for them to worry about. Having curbside service helped, too, because people can stay in their vehicle, pop the trunk and the food box is placed inside,” she said.

As the pandemic grew, it also had a direct impact on organization’s food supply. Community-organized food drives came to a halt. As grocery store shelves were picked clean by customers, the NEIFB could no longer rely on

food that came through retail donations and their food rescue operations.

The food supply chain was backed up across the nation. There were national news reports about farmers plowing under food crops, dairies pouring milk on the ground and producers slaughtering livestock that couldn’t get to market.

In Black Hawk County, NEIFB used its strong partnerships with the county, People’s Community Health Clinic, Operation Threshold, EMBARC and the Salvation Army to provide people access to food.

“It was critical having those local partnerships. Barb has been proactive for decades now in building those at the local, state and national levels and encouraged her staff to be purposeful about that. Having that infrastructure and the relationships already built, the food bank was able to jump into action in a hurry and be a strong partner to the organizations we serve,” said Kirsten Juhl, NEIFB

board president. Food comes from food manufacturers, distributors, local food donations and financial support from businesses, churches, organizations and individuals. Iowa Pork Producers began processing pigs so the food banks would have pork, and the Feeding Iowa Task Force worked with the Iowa Turkey Federation and others to provide stable sources of proteins such as beef and poultry. Pet food was donated, too and distributed to those in need with pets to feed.

NEIFB works with Feeding America and the Feeding Iowa Task Force and joined the task force’s Iowa Gleaning Network last year. “We have done different gleaning projects over the years, working with volunteers to do it and picking up the product. Items received in the past include corn, apples and squash,” Prather said.

Please see FOOD BANK, Page I5

INSPIRATION

I2 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

Charitable foundations curb COVID impact HOLLY HUDSON

For the Courier‌

‌A

historic pandemic requires a historic response. Local charitable organizations joined forces to do just that, banding together to assess needs in the community and provide funds with unprecedented speed.

Under the auspices of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, several area organizations helped create the Black Hawk COVID-19 Cooperative Disaster Response Fund and provide financial support totaling more than $350,000 to be distributed to nonprofit agencies in Black Hawk County. Funds targeted those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

“We formed a collaborative fund,” said Kaye Englin, CFNEI president and CEO. “We had quite a few organizations, including our foundation, who provided $50,000. … We wanted to come up with a way to help distribute funds quickly to organizations who were responding to the pandemic.

Cedar Valley United Way, the Otto Schoitz Foundation, the Leighty Fund, MidAmerican Energy Co., Wells Fargo Foundation, Cedar Falls Community Foundation, Waterloo Community Foundation and CUNA Mutual Group Foundation contributed to the fund.

“We created one mechanism, which managed the fund,” Englin said. “We also streamlined the grant process. Applicants just had to answer a couple of questions. We would get an application submitted on Monday and, if awarded, the check would be out the door by the end of the week.”

Grants went to organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Club of Cedar Valley; Comprehensive Systems, Inc.; EMBARC; Exceptional Persons, Inc.; Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Salvation Army and YWCA of Black Hawk County, for operations support.

CFNEIA, itself, adapted its grant-making process to address the burdens COVID-19 is putting on nonprofits, including extending application and reporting deadlines and flexibility in previous grants so, if recipients received funds for a specific project, remaining funds can be diverted to general operating support. The foundation also shifted the focus of its grants to nonprofits most affected by the pandemic.

In addition to its participation

in the COVID response fund, CFNEIA granted more than $312,700 to nonprofits serving Black Hawk County last year.

The Waterloo Community Foundation’s Executive Director Michelle Temeyer and Board President Wilfred “Mickye” Johnson often refer to the foundation’s founding principles when talking about what the organization is doing.

“We look for the needs,” Jones said. “That is what we were founded on.”

The foundation suffered a blow when its president, Geof Grimes, died in March 2020. Johnson stepped in the following month.

“Mickye joined us right in the thick of it,” Temeyer said.

“We are lucky to have a targeted area,” she said. “We are Waterloo-centric.”

The foundation provided $10,000 to the collaborative fund and also awarded grants to organizations such as Back to Basics, a youth empowerment program; Allen College, which serves health and dental needs of low-income and underinsured individuals; Grin and Grow to provide daycare for 12 single-parent families; Grout Museum to support its new senior outreach program; and North Star to support its inclusive theater project.

“We were able to award early in June and give these organizations an early shot in the arm,” said Teymeyer.

Additionally, WCF established the First Responders Fund and raised $29,325. The fund provided $6,865 each for the Waterloo Police Department, the Waterloo Fire Department, UnityPoint, MercyOne and Peoples Community Health Clinic.

WCF also offers instruction in grant writing.

“We want a level playing field for everyone in our community,” Johnson said. “We want to tear down any walls prohibiting them from applying for a grant.

“We love Waterloo. It has been a pleasure to be able to assist the city we love and see it grow and develop. We want to be a part of that,” Johnson said.

“I think our board is our strength,” Johnson said. “We are very diverse, from different parts of the city. Our strength grows from that diversity.”

“Early in 2020, when everyone was learning about COVID-19 and the pandemic, we knew we were

JEFF REINITZ, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Firefighter Ayla Reese, left, receives a dose of coronavirus vaccine from Madison McDonald of Greenwood Pharmacy at Waterloo Fire Rescue Station No. 1 on Jan. 14. in for some really challenging and unsettling times, with the economic fallout, people losing jobs, people losing their homes, businesses closing, concerns about emotional and mental health, the fear of infection, even the loss of loved ones,” said Shelli Panicucci, Otto Schoitz Foundation CEO. “It is a tragic and challenging time.”

The Schoitz Trust provided $50,000 to the collaborative fund and nearly $700,000 in grants which have provided emergency funding for increased staffing at emergency shelters, increased needs at the food bank, personal protective equipment for frontline health care workers, translation services so refugee and immigrant communities were informed about COVID, direct burial costs and more.

The trust also allowed funding to be converted to cover operating costs and relaxed and extended deadlines.

“We looked at nonprofits providing essential services to individuals,” Panicucci said.

“It’s pretty inspiring,” she said.

“So many joined forces to tackle the issues.”

COURTESY OF EMBARC‌

Kar Meh, an EMBARC AmeriCorps member who coordinates food Please see CHARITY, Page I4 deliveries, poses in a recent photo surrounded by boxes of donated food.

Cedar Falls

Waverly

Demographic data reported as of July 1, 2019.

Demographic data reported as of July 1, 2019.

Population:

Population:

40,536 Female 53.5% Sex Male 46.5%

Asian 3.9% Hispanic 2.4%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.4% American Indian 0.3%

Black 2.5% White 91%

Race

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

10,198

Age Younger than 5 years 6.2% Younger than 18 years 19% Between 19 and 64

Female 51.4% Sex Male 48.6%

60.8%

65 and older 14%

Income & Housing

$61,420

Asian 2.2% Hispanic 1.7%

$89,100

$875

Median Median value Median household of ownergross rent income occupied units Lee Enterprises graphic

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1% American Indian 0.9%

Black 2% White 92.1%

Race

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Age Younger than 5 years 5% Younger than 18 years 20.3% Between 19 and 64

54.9%

65 and older 19.8%

Income & Housing

$64,949

$173,700

$715

Median Median value Median household of ownergross rent income occupied units Lee Enterprises graphic 00 1

INSPIRATION

Sunday, February 28, 2021 | I3

Evansdale

Denver

Demographic data reported as of 2018.

Demographic data reported as of 2018.

Population:

Population:

4,789 Age

Employment Number of employees 2,400

Asian .17%

Number of employees 832

36.4

Median:

38.4

Poverty Rate 5.31%

Income & Housing

Income & Housing Black 0.18%

American Indian .23% $50,816

Race

Age

Employment Median:

Poverty Rate 10.9%

Hispanic 1.84% Black 2.24%

1,676

White 93.4%

Source: Data USA

$117,100

Asian 1.37%

65.4% Race

Median household income

Median property value

Home ownership

Lee Enterprises graphic

White 98.1%

$65,139

$161,300

79.5%

Median household income

Median property value

Home ownership

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Data USA

Lee Enterprises graphic

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EVANSDALE DEMOGRAPHICS

DENVER DEMOGRAPHICS

INSPIRATION

I4 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

Hudson Demographic data reported as of 2018.

Population:

SYDNEY CZYZON, COURIERSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

2,470

The Salvation Army was one of multiple community organizations that attended the Gates Neighborhood Association event for National Night Out on Oct. 6, 2020.

Charity From I2

For example, EMBARC, a nonprofit that supports refugees through advocacy, education and community development, partnered with the Black Hawk County Health Department to disseminate COVID-related information.

“It was a really quick, innovative partnership and reached the people who needed the information,” Panicucci said.

“A lot of organizations have had to shift and pivot to make sure essential products and services continue. They are doing whatever they need to do. Some are literally dropping off boxes of food and hygiene products.”

The R.J. McElroy Trust, which also was a $50,000 contributor to the collaborative fund, was created to help deserving young people in a 12-county area in Northeast Iowa.

“And that’s what we do,” said Sally Hollis, board president.

“With COVID, the needs of young people changed, and the organizations that serve them changed,” she said. “We definitely did new grants that were associated and directly related to COVID. Whether it was food bank support, getting food to fami-

lies, or helping organizations transition to Age Employment digital or virtual programming. Some just needed help keeping the doors open.

Number of employees “This has really opened our eyes,” Hol1,400 lis said. “We’ve done things we thought Median: couldn’t be done. It’s amazing how peoPoverty Rate ple come together and get creative and do 3.97% things faster than they’ve ever been done before.

“Our community is known for having people who are passionate for meaningful change. We do a great job of collaborating in the best way possible.”

The Northeast Iowa Food Bank was the Income & Housing Asian recipient of multiple grants.

1.17% The Community Foundation gave us $50,000 right off the bat to help with pandemic impact,” said Executive Director Barb Prather. “We’re seeing an increase $86,875 $192,800 88.2% in need and, although we prepare to have White Race funding available when the needs arise, we 97.3% were going into the unknown.

Median Median Home The McElroy Trust helped with our household property ownership backpack program,” Prather said. The proincome value gram delivers bags filled with meals and snacks to underfed students on Fridays to sustain them over weekends and school Source: Data USA Lee Enterprises graphic holidays.

“Our traditional food sources weren’t available,” Prather said. “There were a lot good food boxes together. the Guernsey Foundation, United Way,” of changes to our food supply, but through “We’ve received funding from a lot of Prather said.” To have the community step food purchasing, we were able to put really different sources, the Schoitz Foundation, up really made a difference.”

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INSPIRATION

Food bank From I1

Before the pandemic, NEIFB received less than 12% of food and funds from local, county, state and federal government resources.

Since the pandemic began, government resources jumped to more than 36% for food and over 14% for funding. Since June, NEIFB has distributed, on average, about 1,000 food boxes each week through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. In addition, Iowa’s summer derecho suddenly strained supplies in three counties served by NEIFB. COVID-19 numbers were unpredictable, creating additional pressure. Food pantries were preparing to move back indoors last fall when infections rose, reopened businesses closed again and the need for food bank services rose in response.

Understandably, logistics, transportation and manpower were issues throughout 2020.

“We have to get the food where it needs to be. Food pantries in our 16-county area closed, so we added more mobile pantries.

Where we used to send out one truck, now we’re sending two or three, and in bigger locations, four trucks.

Our transportation costs have gone up,” Prather said.

Several area trucking firms stepped up to help.

Volunteers are integral to food bank operations. In 2019, volunteers contributed 45,000 hours helping serve more than 8.3 million meals. With the pandemic, volunteer numbers

dwindled as people chose to stay at home. But a core of volunteers kept coming and staff adapted, she said.

Everyone continues to wear face masks and gloves and maintain physical distance.

Group size is limited to 10 people.

“The days of having 50 or 100 people in one area at a time are over, even in the future. Our warehouse is big enough that we can have 50 people working in small, separate groups all over the building.”

Prather and her team worked with the Iowa Governor’s Task Force “which

enabled us to get the National Guard to step in, giving us a steady, stable source of volunteers for three weeks in April when we really needed it.”

Ten soldiers from the Iowa Army National Guard’s Waterloo-based 248th Aviation Support Battalion packed frozen boxes to hand out to clients, moved pallets filled with foodstuff and repackaged bulk food into smaller packages for the food boxes.

Nine months later, volunteers still perform those tasks and continue to pack individual food boxes and fill nearly 5,000 backpacks

Sunday, February 28, 2021 | I5

for schoolchildren weekly.

Prather is also appreciative of her “dedicated and resilient staff who worked so hard that sometimes I’d have to tell them to get out of here, go home and take care of themselves. We were able to step up and increase their pay a little, and we were fortunate to be able to do that. How the staff is doing is always at the top of my mind.”

Community support has been unwavering, Prather said. “The public was very generous, and we’re grateful. Their support in so many ways enabled us to

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concentrate on getting the food out to people, our operations and providing technical assistance to the counties we serve and changing our programming as needed.”

The Black Hawk County COVID-19 Cooperative Disaster Response Fund was established during the pandemic and provided grants to nonprofit organizations, including NEIFB, who as-

sisted in response and recovery efforts, she noted.

Juhl was “floored” by financial support and encouragement from the community. “We can’t do what we do without community support. Any time we were wondering how we were going to make it work, the community answered, and it was amazing. That was a real morale booster for all of us.”

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I6 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

Independence

Jesup

La Porte City

Demographic data reported as of 2018.

Demographic data reported as of 2018.

Demographic data reported as of 2018.

Population:

6,027 Employment

Black .12%

Median:

Income & Housing

Source: Data USA

$130,300

$70,109

Median property value

Home ownership

Lee Enterprises graphic

White 97.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Data USA

Asian .35%

$155,200

41.9 Income & Housing

American Indian .23%

81.7% Race

Median household income

Median:

Poverty Rate 8.81%

Income & Housing

Race Median household income

33.3

70%

Age

Number of employees 1,261

Median:

Multiracial 2.66%

American Indian .5% White 94.2%

Employment

Poverty Rate 2.97%

42.2

$52,800 Race

Age

Employment Number of employees 1,544

Poverty Rate 10.5%

2,598

2,894

Age

Number of employees 2,930

Asian 1.59% Hispanic 3.42%

Population:

Population:

Median property value

Home ownership

Lee Enterprises graphic

White 94.8%

$54,602

$119,100

80.4%

Median household income

Median property value

Home ownership

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Lee Enterprises graphic

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MOMENTUM Sunday, February 28, 2021 | wcfcourier.com | 2021 PROGRESS EDITION

CHRIS ZOELLER, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Crews work to construct rides and attractions for the new $100 million, 90-acre Lost Island Theme Park on Shaulis Road in Waterloo.

JEFF REINITZ

jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com‌

‌W

ATERLOO — Iowa’s newest theme park is rising from a former farm field south of

town.

The purple supports and tracks of a roller coaster soar above the snow-covered ground, and buildings are beginning to spring up as construction workers continue to labor through the winter.

Work is projected to continue through 2021, and the Lost Island Theme Park remains on track for a 2022 grand opening, according to officials.

“It’s going to be a huge asset for the city,” said Tavis Hall, executive director for Experience Waterloo.

Even though it will only be open for a few months out of the year, the attraction is expected to be a large boost for the Cedar Valley economy.

Hall said the total economic impact will be about $32 million a year once open, according to a study undertaken in 2019. That includes $6 million for food and beverage, $5 million for retail, $4 million for overnight lodging and $2 million for recreation, he said.

“Most folks, when they come from out of town, they are going to

Theme park taking shape

make a weekend out of it and stop at restaurants,” Hall said.

Gary Bertch, who is taking on the project with his wife, Becky, said plans for the theme park have been in the works for a decade. They came up with the idea as a way to fill a gap in the children’s and family-oriented entertainment in the area.

Hall said the park will pair well with other attractions in the area.

“From a community branding standpoint it’s awesome for us to have this amazing addition to the market,” Hall said.

The Bertch’s also operate Lost Island Water Park — which opened in 2001 and is rated one of the best in the nation — the Bamboo Ridge Campground, Monaleo Adventure Golf and Monaleo’s Speedway gocart track, which are across the road from the theme park site.

The Isle Casino Hotel is also across the road.

Stretching out over 90 acres and with a cost of around $100 million, the Lost Island Theme Park will have a 30-acre lake and five different “lands,” according to earlier reports. Concept art shows amuseJEFF REINITZ, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ment park rides and play areas scatA rollercoaster is being constructed at the upcoming Lost Island theme park on tered among a volcano, temple ruShaulis Road in Waterloo. ins, statues and huts.

Construction to continue through 2021 for Lost Island Theme Park

JEFF REINITZ, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌‌

Rollercoasters and buildings for the upcoming Lost Island theme park begin to rise on Shaulis Road in Waterloo. The park is scheduled to open in 2022.

COURTESY DRAWINGS‌

Conceptual drawings from BDR Design Group of the proposed Lost Island Theme Park planned south of the Lost Island Waterpark.

00 1

MOMENTUM

J2 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

Weathering

the storm Deere invests $100M in 2020 despite virus; will hire 500 in 2021 PAT KINNEY

For the Courier‌

‌W

ATERLOO — There’s an old saying: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Employees of John Deere’s Waterloo operations got going PHOTOS COURTESY JOHN DEERE‌ in 2020. And they’re not letting up on the gas in 2021.

Tony Stevens, TCAO employee, works on the 7R final assembly line and installs several different components Workers at the company’s including side panels and labels. Throughout COVID-19 John Deere Waterloo Works has strived to ensure largest North American manuemployee safety through thermal screening, increased cleaning, face covering policy, and social distancing facturing complex faced a maprotocols for employees. jor challenge in 2020: roll out a new product line in the middle Tractor Cab of a pandemic — the company’s Assembly new 8R series large row-crop Operations 8RX tractors. track assembly.

They pulled it off by pulling together.

“There was kind of this higher purpose about what the work was we were trying to go do,” said Becky Guinn, Deere Waterloo factory manager.

“Literally, we launched the new 8R right at the beginning of the pandemic,” Guinn said. “We focused as a leadership team on how do we keep our employees safe? Communicate what we’re doing with our COVID protocols? And they just went to work.

They just did what they needed to do to set up a line and launch the product.

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“That was probably the best new product launch that we’ve actually had in our history,” Guinn said.

“Nothing like going through a pandemic to bring us closer.”

There was much uncertainty as the pandemic rolled across the country. No one knew what impact it would have on Deere’s business.

“The reality is the industry continued to hold pretty well.

And our role became about, how do we support that, as essential employees? And so our focus shifted really to, how do we keep our employees safe?”

Guinn said. “Then, how do we continue to build products the customers want and keep our doors open?”

Product demand remained strong. The company monitored orders carefully for cancellations. They didn’t materialize.

Commodity prices are recovering, and the rest of the economy to some extent. “And that’s pulling ag along. We’re definitely seeing more upside. We’re seeing product acceptance continue to grow and demand continuing to increase,” Guinn said.

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MOMENTUM

Sunday, February 28, 2021 | J3

Real estate shows unexpected growth HOLLY HUDSON

For the Courier‌

‌W

hile many sectors of the economy are struggling amidst the coronavirus, the local real estate market has remained unscathed and is, in fact, booming despite expectations the market would slow down.

Area experts are having trouble explaining why the local market grew despite the pandemic.

“I’m really surprised at the numbers, the increase,” said Dick Robert. “Especially during COVID with restrictions and masking. I can’t explain it, but the market is strong in both Waterloo and Cedar Falls, up more than 11% in Cedar Falls and more than 9% in Waterloo. We really don’t have a handle on what you can tie that to.”

Those percentages represent the increase in sales of detached, single-family homes as reported by the Multiple Listing Service of the Northeast Iowa Board of Realtors.

Robert, owner/broker with Cedar Falls Real Estate Co., analyzes and predicts housing market trends each year. He’s been publishing annual summaries since 1980. This year’s report was released Jan. 13.

This time last year, Robert expected a decline in 2020 home sales, down 1% in Waterloo and 2% in Cedar Falls.

Instead, Waterloo saw 81 more houses sold in 2020, a total of 942 compared to 861 in 2019. In Cedar Falls, 573 homes were sold in 2020 compared to 514 in 2019, an increase of 59 homes.

According to Robert’s report, the average sale price in Waterloo rose 2.28%, from $126,126 in 2019 to $129,005 in 2020, while in Cedar Falls, the average sale price increased from $235,621 in 2019 to $245,339, up 4.13%.

There were 204 homes listed for sale in January in Waterloo, compared to 246 last year. At the same time in Cedar Falls, there

CHRIS ZOELLER PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

A new home is under construction in The Arbors of Viking Road subdivision in Cedar Falls.

Homes in The Arbors of Viking Road subdivision in Cedar Falls. were 127 homes listed, down from 150 in 2019.

On average, sellers in Cedar Falls received 97.80% of list price in 2020, down from 98.23% in 2019. In Waterloo, the percentage increased slightly from 97.47 in 2019 to 97.66 in 2020.

In Waterloo, 77 new single-family homes were built, up from 69 the previous year. That number increased slightly in Cedar Falls, with 113 new homes built in 2020 compared to 111 in 2019.

Robert said the area has been seeing a downturn in building permits since 2011, probably due to a combination of the cost of building materials and the lack of building lots.

Robert said there has not been a big increase in the number of

people viewing homes, but more of them are serious buyers.

In 2020, 97 foreclosures were reported in Black Hawk County.

That is down from 176 in 2019.

Robert also ran a property tax comparison between Waterloo and Cedar Falls featuring two homes, one in each city, with an assessed value of $200,000, applying the state-mandated residential rollback and the millage rate for each community.

For 2020/2021, property taxes on the Waterloo home total $4,456.71. In Cedar Falls, taxes on a home with the same assessed value are $3,650.43.

Robert expects that gap to narrow as Cedar Falls property taxes will increase to cover the costs of a new elementary and high school.

For 2021, Robert forecasts an increase in sales in Waterloo of 2% and a decrease in Cedar Falls of 4%. He expects the average sale price to increase in Waterloo by 2 to 3% and in Cedar Falls by 6 to 8%, due to declining inventory.

While Mary Shileny, chief executive officer for the Northeast Iowa Regional Board of Realtors, also looks at single-family homes sold, she breaks the numbers down further and also reports figures on other types of properties.

For example, in Cedar Falls, of the single-family homes

listed in 2020, 46 of 50 zero- to two-bedroom homes sold, 244 of 256 three-bedroom homes sold, and 284 of 411 homes with four or more bedrooms sold.

That equates to 80.06% of listed homes sold, compared to 73.40% in 2019.

In Waterloo, 288 homes with zero- to two-bedrooms were listed and 252 sold. Of 577 three-bedroom homes listed, 483 sold, and 210 of 266 homes with four or more bedrooms sold.

In 2020, 83.55% of listed homes sold, up from 77.82% in 2019.

Additionally, 15 of 20 listed multi-family properties sold in Cedar Falls in 2020, compared to 17 of 45 in 2019. In Waterloo, over the same time, 47 of 67 listed multi-family properties sold, compared to 25 of 69 in 2019.

Shileny emphasizes the importance, for both buyers and sellers, of a market’s absorption rate.

“When buyers ask a realtor, ‘What’s a good time to buy?’ or a seller asks, ‘How long will it take to sell my house?’ they are asking about the absorption rate,” she said.

“The absorption rate in the real estate market is used to evaluate the rate at which available homes are sold in a specific market during a given time period. It is calculated by dividing the number of homes sold in the allotted time period by the total number of available homes. The lower the absorption rate, or the fewer days on market can give the seller’s the upper hand. The higher the absorption rate, the better shopping for buyers.

“When there is fluctuation in a market, highs and lows, there is stimulation that supports a healthy market. The Cedar Valley market is a classic example of stability.”

Waterloo’s community planning and development director Noel Anderson said the city has had a healthy wave of good activity.

“We’ve been concerned about the pandemic and how it impacts timelines and the availability of building materials but, for the most part, we aren’t seeing a lot of problems.

“We’re seeing the roller coaster go up at Lost Island,” he said.

“We’re excited about office development along the San Marnan corridor. We’ve received final plans for the Warren expansion.

The downtown convention center construction is continuing, the Best Western is finished and open.

The Frito Lay building is finished and renting units, and the Art Bloc is taking applications. So there’s a lot of good action.

“The Walnut neighborhood, with the addition of the (All-In) grocery store, people are buying and rehabbing homes. There are a few lots available. We are glad to see a resurgence in that neighborhood where we are seeing new building, existing homes being rehabilitated and business partners.

“We would like to focus on the Church Row neighborhood next.

The missing link there would be commercial partners.”

In Cedar Falls, Economic Development Coordinator Shane Graham said the city is seeing good housing activity in some of the newer subdivisions.

“The Arbors of Viking Road is starting new additions, and Iron Horse off of Union Road is beginning work on its fifth through ninth additions,” he said.

“We’ve also seen steady commercial and industrial growth.

We’re seeing interest near College Square, in the Viking Plaza area near Target and in both industrial parks. Ashley Furniture just opened up on University, and we’ve received a site plan for a coffee shop next to Culvers on Viking Road.

“The pandemic has slowed some things down, but we are positioning ourselves to hit the ground running when things are back to normal.”

The Cedar Falls Community Foundation worked with partners to support our community through a very challenging year. In 2021, CFCF is making a positive impact by making children and families a priority.

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MOMENTUM

J4 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

Deere From J2

Help for Tyson‌

The spirit of “higher purpose” extended beyond the walls of Deere plants. The company’s Waterloo operations, with its massive tractor cab assembly operation on East Donald Street, shared personal protective equipment with its neighbors at Tyson Fresh Meats just to the south across Newell Street when workers there were hit with an outbreak of coronavirus.

“We had really put a lot of the protocols in place to keep our employees safe,” Guinn said. The company implemented temperature scanning and other measures and felt like it was in a good place.

“And then all of that blew up with Tyson,” she said.

Deere strengthened protocols and how it quarantined workers. And then the company reached out to Tyson.

“One of the things that was cool, as factory manager here in Waterloo, was we were meeting, literally, daily, with all the factory managers in North America and globally.

We were really learning from each other, as people were putting different things in place, and trying to figure out what works. So we were able to innovate and implement that quicker. And so, with Tyson, it was how do we reach out and support them with everything we’d figured out?” Guinn said.

“We had a lot of employees where their spouses worked there,” Guinn noted. “It was in our best interests to support that and help this community.”

COVID precautions‌

Deere continued to implement workplace safeguards with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control. Masks are 100% required on the factory floor and in the offices. There are temperature scanning stations at all locations. Care

PHOTO COURTESY JOHN DEERE‌

Tractor Cab Assembly Operations made improvements to the 7R and 8R cab line in 2020. kits for employees include non-fogging safety glasses that won’t steam up from people breathing into masks.

Health support staff works over the phone to screen employees showing symptoms and make sure they stay home. That was especially crucial after the Thanksgiving holiday when a spike was seen in the community.

Deere’s Waterloo operations saw an absentee rate about 10% higher than normal due to the coronavirus.

“We’re ready to get a vaccine so we can get that 10% back into the workforce in productive manner,” Guinn said.

But Deere maintained production as workers covered for each other. While shopfloor production workers continued making tractors and tractor components as “essential” workers, anyone who could worked remotely.

That included employees at the Product Engineering Center in Cedar Falls, the heart of the company’s research and development operation, except when they had to be physically present for product testing.

“We moved basically twothirds of our salaried employees remote,” Guinn said.

Tours were suspended, and the John Deere Tractor and Engine Museum was closed.

“One thing I think COVID is doing in our industry is it has shifted technology to allow people to work” remotely, she said. “Now this is just kind of normal. And the tools are coming faster.”

Some of it will continue post COVID. “We used to travel a lot; I

think people question how much of that we will have to do.” Face-to-face interaction will be necessary to build a culture of collegiality and cooperation, “but I also think people are being more accepting about, ‘Can I be remote? Can I call into this meeting?’”

She also expects a “hybrid” of online and face-to-face interaction with dealers and customers.

Improvements‌

The company also continued its two-decade-old reinvestment in Waterloo operations in 2020, making $100 million in improvements across all local facilities ranging from roof and heating, ventilating and air conditioning work to materials recycling improvements related to the Waterloo Foundry.

“Now we can basically take material from our sister factories, like sheet steel, and bring it on and recycle that, recycle our own castings,” she said, “a pretty significant sustainability improvement.”

The company also installed new transmission and cab lines, respectively, at the drivetrain operations facility on Westfield and assembly operations on East Donald Street. An update for the 9R tractors is coming as well.

“We really continued to execute our capital plan as we envisioned heading into our fiscal year, even accelerated some things,” Guinn said.

“Actually, with some of the slowdown in the economy we were able to work with our local contractors and get some really good deals, and

spent more capital than we and has worked with Cedar Valley TechWorks to set up even really planned on.” a new “Manufacturing 101” 500 hires‌ initiative. It’s meant to interCurrent Deere employ- est high school students in a ment in Waterloo stands at pre-apprenticeship program, about 5,000, fairly evenly as well as STEM education to divided between production interest younger students in and salaried workers. While engineering. The goal is to the salaried work force was maintain a “pipeline of taltrimmed by about 100 em- ent” while also promoting ployees, the production diversity. workforce was not reduced “I think there’s a huge opand no employees are cur- portunity in the Waterloo rently laid off. In fact, after community to make this a several years of an ag down- place where diverse talent turn, the company antici- grows and can be their best pates hiring an additional selves,” Guinn said. “They 500 workers in Waterloo due have roots here, and family, to an expected economic and really want to continue to upturn and favorable com- grow. We’ve seen that with a modity prices boosting farm lot of our employees. They’re incomes, plus the success of really committed to the Cenew Waterloo-made prod- dar Valley, and they’re some ucts and continued popu- of the most committed and larity of others. That hiring best workforce that we have would occur between now in the company.”

Deere continues to recruit and May. “We’re positioned really workers from outside the well,” Guinn said. “As the community as well for skilled economy starts to rev back positions. up, as there’s optimism about coming through COVID, we’re seeing high demand for tractors.”

Labor-management cooperation between Deere and the United Auto Workers through the pandemic has been a positive development, even as the company and union look toward negotiating a new labor agreement later this year.

“They have their things they’re working toward, and we’ll let that process kind of work itself out,” Guinn said.

“But within Waterloo, we just want to make sure we’re transparent in our communications and continuing to build a strong relationship.

And we recognize that value.

Common ground. We want to take care of our employees.”

Toward that end, Guinn said, “The Cedar Valley is a great place for raising your family. I think it’s easy to attract people around that, but the continued development of both downtowns and amenities in Waterloo and Cedar Falls only enhances that.”

Deere workers continue to contribute to those efforts with 18,000 volunteer hours and $1 million annually donated to local United Way programs.

“We’re very much committed in how we support the community: the economic development, how to make it a great place for people to come and live,” Guinn said.

“We want to continue to do workforce development: How do we unlock the talent that’s here, create jobs for them and recruit and attract other businesses to this area?

I think that is pretty important. And, to just build on the foundation that’s here as we continue to go forward.”

Thanks to all of our students, staff and families for their perseverance during a challenging school year!

Whether in-person or online, your education is our priority.

Community efforts‌

Deere continues its workforce cultivation efforts through internships and apprenticeships, with many working remotely. The company is tapping the University of Northern Iowa, Hawkeye Community College,

Perseverance is a virtue that can not be understated...

Support from local businesses, organizations, families and volunteers has given us the drive to make every day the best it can be for our residents and our staff.

Our community inspires us to give outstanding care in all circumstances.

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MOMENTUM

Sunday, February 28, 2021 | J5

JEFF REINITZ, COURIER STAFF WRITER

Construction is underway at the Lowell Elementary School site where crews are building a new school.

Building

community Major projects forged ahead in spite of challenges SYDNEY CZYZON

sydney.czyzon@wcfcourier.com‌

COURIER FILE PHOTO‌

Construction crews work on the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in downtown Waterloo on June 3, 2020.

JEFF REINITZ, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

Crews install the new sign at the former Ramada Hotel in downtown Waterloo in July. The property at 205 W. Fourth St. underwent a large renovation and reopened as a Best Western Plus Executive Residency.

‌W

ATERLOO — About a year ago, Waterloo’s planning officials would gather around tables, contemplating project logistics.

Development meetings turned virtual during COVID-19, with city planners sharing Zoom screens, sending emails and talking on the phone. The changes didn’t stop strong conAnderson struction activity in the city, said Noel Anderson, city planning director.

But the uncertainty of the pandemic did cause some developers to think twice, Anderson said.

“We’ve had people that were ready to go with projects that all of a sudden said they were going to pump the brakes and wait things out a little bit,” Anderson said. “I think any time there’s uncertainty in the general market that people are a little concerned about, ‘How is that going to impact my business?’ without knowing the future.”

Material shortages from

COVID-19 caused other projects to slow down, Anderson said. Some manufacturing factories shut down due to infection outbreaks. Materials that were available shot up in cost. The August 2020 derecho funneled most materials for repairs to the Cedar Rapids area.

The setbacks didn’t stop many of the city’s biggest projects from moving forward. The Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center is undergoing lobby and second-floor renovations and is expected to get a new main entrance, Anderson said.

“I think one of the concerns in the past has been you didn’t really know where the main front door was,” Anderson said.

“We’re just trying to recreate that entrance and really create a new space out there for use for conventions, for gatherings and all that.”

The planned 90-acre Lost Island Theme Park across from the water park continues to be under construction, Anderson said.

The city projects the theme park will bring 300 new part-time jobs per year.

Please see DEVELOPMENT, Page J7 JEFF REINITZ, COURIER STAFF WRITER

Construction workers remove beams from the University Avenue bridge near Sergeant Road in May as part of a reconstruction project.

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MOMENTUM

J6 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

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These words are still our driving force today. We are constantly refining, enhancing, and improving our large tractors and technologies for unsurpassed performance that pays. With the best technologies, the best processes, and the best people all devoted to meeting and exceeding industry’s highest standards.

www.JohnDeere.com 00 1

MOMENTUM

Development From J5

“I think the theme park is kind of a unique project in that it’s going to bring so many different aspects to the community in terms of new visitors, new tourism,” Anderson said. “It’s hard to imagine all the positives of what that’s going to bring.”

Anderson hopes the theme park will help revitalize the Crossroads tax-increment financing district, which he said struggled the most during the pandemic.

“We’re obviously looking at different strategies there to try and find some partners to try and help us look at some redevelopment efforts there,” Anderson said.

Development in the Northeast Industrial Park is thriving with a major expansion from company Con-Trol, which provides container systems mainly for John JEFF REINITZ, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌ Deere suppliers. Anderson said Construction crews work on houses being built on Blue Wing Drive in the project is part of the city’s Waterloo last year. efforts for “growing business ex-

During the dark and challenging past year, our staff has persevered .

They continue to adapt and work together as a team.

Sunday, February 28, 2021 | J7

pansion.”

He said the planning department is opening up 300 acres of industrial land near the Waterloo Regional Airport, allowing for more development opportunities.

A new TIF district along the University Avenue corridor could be coming down the line, Anderson said. He said one of the “major motivations” for recent road construction in the area was to “try and improve where we can some active points for business redevelopment.”

He hopes to see empty K-Mart, HyVee and smaller buildings get filled with new businesses, he said.

“Ultimately, the TIF district gives us more authority to be able to address and help projects as we can find them along that corridor,” Anderson said.

The city saw “pretty good development” in its eight TIF districts, Anderson said. This includes work on the Waterloo Greyhound Park and the Cedar Valley Crossing subdivision in the Martin Road Business Park area.

Anderson said the city is working to clean up the former Weissman Steel location on the city’s east side.

Infill development on blighted houses proved more popular than expected, Anderson said. The city has an incentive program that encourages renovation of abandoned homes. Waterloo sells dilapidated homes for $5,000 to developers and refunds the $5,000 when the home receives a certificate of occupancy. The city then provides an additional $5,000 reward payment for improvements.

The Lincolnshire housing development and houses near Baltimore Field are examples of the infill program’s success, Anderson said. He said people who own properties next to their own households have begun taking advantage of infill renovations recently.

“The incentive program was kind of born from the idea of, ‘Hey, it would be great to have a little bit of help for some of these vacant sites for infrastructure improvements,’” Anderson said.

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MOMENTUM

J8 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

WATERLOO – Locke Funeral Services has been depended on for generations by those seeking guidance following a death since Carroll Locke founded the business in 1945. Over their 75+ years in operation, they have expanded to four locations, each providing compassionate, personal, and meaningful services.

Locke at Tower Park will be the latest facility to join the growing family business, which includes Locke on 4th Street, Locke Garden View Chapel, and Locke in La Porte City.

The Locke team broke ground for their new location in October of 2020. When complete, it will offer contemporary options and services to the residents of Black Hawk County.

“Our vision calls on us to evolve with our community’s wishes. Locke at Tower Park does that,” said Eric Locke, a fourth-generation funeral director at Locke Funeral Services. “Our newest facility will expand what we offer to include contemporary funeral experiences at affordable prices.”

Along with traditional funeral offerings, Locke at Tower Park will include a cremation center to assist with all cremation needs. This option helps Locke Funeral Services continue to honor each life in respect to their final wishes.

Another addition that will be found at Tower Park is the Life Celebration Center, a place for those looking to celebrate the memory of a loved one after their passing. The state-of-the-art facility will include catering, offering food and beverage options to serve those looking to congregate before and after the service.

To complement these renovations, technology will be available to serve any need. Staff will be able to assist whoever participates in the service, whether it’s a clergy person of choice or a staff Celebrant trained to help personalize the celebration of life ceremony. Tower Park will also be the new home of Locke’s Continuous Care Grief Support program, a free program available to anyone in the community in need of assistance coping with their recent loss.

“Our expansion is an innovative way for us to provide a place for your family to gather, honor, and hold close your loved ones,” said Locke. “Since our founding, my family and our team have been striving to fairly, honestly, and compassionately offer our guidance before, at the time of, and after a loss. Our new facility will allow us to carry on the legacy of my great grandfather [Carroll], my grandfather [John], and my dad [Jack].”

Kearns Funeral Service will be relocating to the Tower Park location as part of the company’s growth strategy. Services will continue at the current Kearns location at Kimball and Park Lane through construction of Locke at Tower Park.

“Everyone in the Locke family and our entire staff plan to continue to work for Locke Funeral Services and look forward to the new facility and enhanced options coming soon,” said Locke. “We plan to bring new jobs to Waterloo and add even more caring funeral professionals to help you when we open Locke at Tower Park.”

Locke at Tower Park is located at 4140 Kimball Avenue in Waterloo, Iowa. The facility is expected to be complete and ready to serve the public in fall of 2021. For more information on Locke Funeral Services, visit their website at www.LockeAtTowerPark.com.

Locke at Tower Park:

Celebrate Their Memory

A funeral should be as unique as the life it honors. It’s a time to gather, pay respects, and celebrate the memory of a loved one in a way that matters to them—as well as those they leave behind. Locke Funeral Services is constructing a state-of-the-art facility, Locke at Tower Park, to offer contemporary funeral experiences that make saying goodbye more personal, more comforting, and more meaningful.

Locke at Tower Park is here to serve the community with new offerings: • Life Celebration Center • Full Cremation Services • Free Continuous Care Grief Support Locke at Tower Park will also be the new home of Kearns Funeral Service.

The facility will be completed and ready to serve by fall of 2021.

Learn more about Locke Funeral Services and the Tower Park location at LockeAtTowerPark.com.

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PERSEVERANCE Sunday, February 28, 2021 | wcfcourier.com | 2021 PROGRESS EDITION

Waterloo determined to keep moving forward QUENTIN HART

Waterloo mayor ‌

‌I

n December 2019, the nation’s eyes were on Waterloo as presidential hopefuls took stage at the Cedar Valley SportsPlex and mayors from across the country gathered here to shine the spotlight on cities.

TV production vans lined our streets, hotels filled, the city buzzed with excitement. It was a proud moment for Waterloo, no matter your political affiliation.

Then, three short months later, we were back in the headlines.

This time as a COVID hot spot confronted by the meatpacking industry crisis. CNN, Fox News, the New York Times, Washington Post, you name it; everyone wanted an interview. This was just the beginning.

Since March 2020, far too many of our neighbors and loved ones have suffered great personal losses due to the pandemic. Too many have died. Many will suffer life-long effects. Still, we have witnessed a fierce determination in our city to push forward.

While COVID reveals our vulnerabilities and disparities, it also offers tremendous opportunities to adjust course.

City services simply cannot go on hold. Initially, each of our 18 departments devised response plans to keep city services running smoothly and reduce potential exposure. Working with City Council, I ordered a city-wide mask mandate. I formed a COVID Response Team to guide staff, interpret state and federal policies, and to provide a proactive approach to the city’s pandemic response. Black Hawk County Emergency Operations Center acted boldly, pulling agencies together for coordinated communication to the public.

Many in-person city services shifted to remote interactions, while other departments limited public access, installing barriers and requiring social distancing.

Like the rest of the world, we quickly established cleaning protocols, split shifts and modified workspaces. Public meetings went virtual. This is our

CHRIS ZOELLER COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Quentin Hart new normal.

Through prudence and prioritization, the city worked hard to maintain high levels of service delivery with minimal disruption. Although we have and will continue to face budgetary threats, departments are pushing forward. Our fire department and EMTs answered record call volumes and transports of COVID-infected patients. When venues managed by our Center for the Arts, Leisure Services and Public Library were forced to reduce programming they quickly developed creative virtual programs ,and Waterloo was recognized for having the best streets among Iowa’s largest cities.

Lead remediation and Healthy Homes programs increased to improve aging housing stock and living conditions of residents.

During 2020, we saw our second-highest permitting year at $161,201,460, growing $20 million over 2019, and projected to peak higher in 2021. Years of careful planning and strong public-private partnerships have

positioned Waterloo to weather potential declines and keep major-scale projects like the Waterloo Convention Center, LSB at TechWorks, Lost Island Theme Park and others on track.

As the world rebounds from the pandemic, Waterloo is ready.

Our new comfort with technology created unique opportunities for connection as people from across the Cedar Valley came together to share critical conversations on equity and social justice. Individuals are joining virtual discussions, connecting across geographic and social divides. The pandemic gave many time to thoughtfully join the “How to Be An Anti-Racist” community book read, and the International Human Rights Conservation with our own Pulitzer Prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones.

In the midst of a pandemic, 24/7 Black and the Momentum project were launched to support Waterloo’s minority small businesses, develop job skills and foster economic inclusion,

and Waterloo passed significant police and social justice reforms and implemented the Fair Chance Initiative. Inclusion leads us forward.

We have also seen countless examples of businesses and individuals shifting priorities and stepping up to help meet PPE needs. From Waterloo native Martin Culpepper at MIT donating high-performance shields, to local manufacturers John Deere, Powers Manufacturing and others converting productions lines and reallocating resources.

I can’t forget the individuals who sewed thousands of masks while sheltering in place. Waterloo residents stepped up.

Still, the unknowns and unforeseen consequences of the pandemic trouble me: Uncertainties in the commercial real-estate market, the ability of property owners to pay taxes, small businesses teetering on the edge and a hospitality industry questioning when and if travelers will return.

What about the psychological

impacts, long-term effects on health and health care, lags in education? The ripple effects of COVID could go on and on.

Through the League of Cities, Conference of Mayors and other important affiliations, I connect with leaders across Iowa and the nation to learn and prepare for what may lie ahead. I’ve taken Waterloo’s experiences to Washington advocating for direct federal funding in future stimulus and recovery packages, emphasizing resiliency and equity as our standards.

My colleague Mayor Andy Berke of Chattanooga recently said, “We are the architects of our own renewal.” I agree and this is why I continue to push for bold action.

In Waterloo, we are navigating the path to municipal broadband, incorporating Smart City technology into city infrastructure from streetlights to traffic flow and bridging the digital divide in underserved areas of our city.

We are collaborating with the University of Iowa to better understand the nature of our challenges and make wiser decisions moving forward.

We are launching a community-wide 2030 Vision and Strategic Planning process to engage residents through sharing of their hopes and dreams.

We are bringing key stakeholders together to form the City Central Live, Learn, Work Initiative, moving housing, neighborhood revitalization and targeted job training to the top of our priority list.

These initiatives and many others will help ensure every Waterloo resident is included in the recovery.

I am keenly aware that future generations will judge our actions or inaction during this pandemic, our call for social justice and the political polarization of our time. I hope our history will reflect Waterloo’s sincere desire to build a better, safer, stronger, more equitable and unified community for everyone.

Cedar Falls grows in shared purpose ROB GREEN

Cedar Falls mayor‌

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‌2020 may have been a year unlike any other, but it is also a year that highlighted what makes Cedar Falls special. As COVID-19 changed the world, we stand stronger together as a city and community.

Many establishments closed their doors to the public in early 2020 as a result of COVID-19.

City facilities (including the Public Library, the Hearst Center for the Arts and the Recreation and Fitness Center) similarly closed to prevent the spread of the virus.

However, this did not stop our city from coming together even as we stayed safely apart.

Cedar Falls garbage collectors were greeted with messages of gratitude written in chalk on driveways from appreciative citizens. Cedar Falls Public Safety helped give children a chance to celebrate their birthdays with drive-by fire truck visits. The Hearst Center found new ways to reach residents including online crafts and take-home art kits.

The Rec kept everyone moving with social media activities. The library persevered with its mission of being the community’s living room, encouraging people in need of internet connection to use their parking lot for free Wi-Fi, sharing virtual story times and curbside service.

To help citizens stay informed and educated, the city launched a COVID-19 webpage in March 2020 at www.cedarfalls.com/ prepare, which explained how to conduct business online with the city. Public meetings were moved online to allow elected and appointed officials, staff and residents to engage safely.

Despite the challenges, 2020

Rob Green continued to bring new economic opportunities to our area.

Cedar Falls-based companies Cunningham Construction, Zuidberg and Air King Filtration all constructed larger buildings for their growing businesses.

The College Square area welcomed Ashley HomeStore as a beautiful infill project. The Panther Travel Plaza and Dairy Queen opened their doors on Hudson Road and Ridgeway Avenue.

The Downtown Streetscape kicked off in March 2020 to bring increased walkability and cohesion to the growing district. An exciting addition to the Downtown area, River Place Plaza, opened on Second and State streets, as well.

ligation unlimited tax bonds to Aaa and assigned a Aaa rating to its $3.4 million General Obligation Capital Loan Notes, Series 2020.

This is the highest rating achievable by an entity and helps the city receive lower interest rates when it sells bonds, which reduces the property tax burden for debt service. Moody’s Investors Service also included that the stable outlook reflects expectation that the city’s financial position will remain strong and operating revenue loss from the pandemic will be modest.

We are also finding new opportunities to strengthen our city for the future including the launch of the Cedar Falls Resilience Plan (www.cfresilience.com) which kicked off in fall 2020. The project invites citizens to develop solutions to better position the community CHRIS ZOELLER, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌ economically and environmentally while continuing to provide a high quality of life for all. The e-commerce services, as well as goal is to make Cedar Falls more And even as we continued to resilient for the future, particuwork through the pandemic, our the move toward online educalarly in response to unforeseen tion, reliable internet service is city kept growing. The sale of economic, societal and environdetached single family homes in more vital than ever. Whether mental challenges.

Cedar Falls increased by 11.48% conducting business or sharing As we’ve tackled the chalin 2020, according to the annual virtual holidays with family, lenges of 2020 together, I’m real estate market summary pre- 2020 proved again why this proud that in our community pared by Cedar Falls Real Estate unmatched service remains a cornerstone in bringing our city 2020 will not be defined by the Group. The average sale price virus itself. It will be rememtogether and connecting us to increased by 4.13% as well. bered as a year that our comthe world.

As COVID-19 changed the munity persevered and united 2021 is a shaping up to be an way business was conducted, through creativity, empathy and Cedar Falls rose to the challenge exciting year with new projects a shared sense of purpose. in development, including the by meeting the demands of an We have proven that we can increasingly online world. Cedar expansion of the Cedar Falls Innot only endure but grow, even dustrial Park.

Falls Utilities was named by PC as we continue to fight together A 2020 report from Moody’s Magazine as the fastest internet against the pandemic. It’s Investors Service also provided service provider in the country, an updated outlook on the city’s through this common desire for beating out major, nation-wide a vibrant and resilient Cedar financial stability. This past competitors. summer, Moody’s upgraded the Falls that we look forward to a With more people working bright 2021 — and beyond. city of Cedar Falls general obremotely and stores utilizing

K2 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

PERSEVERANCE

Perseverance the heart, spirit of Waverly businesses TRAVIS TOLIVER

Executive director Waverly Chamber of Commerce

‌L

ike many businesses, the Waverly Chamber of Commerce entered 2020 looking forward to goals and projects aimed at continuing the progressive spirit our community has come to be known for.

As we wrapped up the first quarter, we were suddenly faced with a pandemic that would forever change the way our businesses would and could function to pay their expenses. Instead of shying away from this challenging moment in time, we chose to face it head-on and pivoted immediately to understanding the local, state, national and global situations as they unfolded.

We placed our 2020 goals aside to help our business community as much as possible. We found ourselves becoming students of the virus, learning about its effects on businesses and the economy from our state, federal and national agencies. We understood our learning time was short as our businesses needed information and answers to their questions, and our community was looking for a reliable resource.

I am proud to say the Waverly Chamber of Commerce an-

those two following years were daunting, and businesses would have just over a year to recover before many of them were being forced to shut down due to an unforeseen pandemic.

We were fortunate in that several of our retail, restaurant, service-based and industrial businesses already had a strong online presence when we started learning about the virus. What struck me as remarkable was how many businesses not only increased their social media reach through multiple platforms, but how creative they became in the process.

In March 2020, for example, CHRIS ZOELLER, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌ Thompson Shoes started FaceTravis Toliver book Live events showcasing the “It is for these reasons, use. I am so proud of the chalnew summer line-up of merchandise and how people could lenges they have overcome and and so many more, place their order by sending the continue to persevere through, that I’m proud of our still today. It may sound strange store a direct message using the platform’s instant messaging to hear someone say they are businesses in Waverly option. proud of businesses, but I am. and those who have Another was the East Bremer Many in the Cedar Valley may Diner, which started hosting not know that Waverly busisupported them.”

“Bingo Nights” every Friday evenesses have been through some ning via Facebook Live and gave challenging years prior to the swered the call — literally.

Merriam-Webster defines the pandemic. The most recent was away bundles of prizes donated by other local businesses to winword perseverance as “continued the two-year Iowa DOT reconeffort to do or achieve something struction project of State High- ners of each round. Going home way 3/Bremer Avenue for the full and partaking in the virtual fun despite difficulties, failure, or by watching the game unfold, two-mile length of the town. opposition.” When speaking while typing comments to our Even though the project was about our businesses in Waverly, friends in the community who completed at the end of 2018, I can’t think of a better word to

were also participating, helped us connect with others during a time of isolation. The team at the diner made staying home fun for all by designing various themes and even dressing in costume.

Finally, Wartburg College transitioned quickly to an online learning format and has since found creative ways to engage students and the community through pre-recorded music concerts such as Christmas with Wartburg. This year’s production premiered through an international Facebook Live event and was available to stream on YouTube throughout the holiday season, for free.

It is for these reasons, and so many more, that I’m proud of our businesses in Waverly and those who have supported them. We mourn the loss of one business which closed solely due to the pandemic, but celebrate how Waverly continues to push onward.

With more infrastructure projects in the pipeline, a new youth ball diamond facility coming to fruition soon and many more exciting plans ahead, it is not hard to see why Waverly continues to attract new businesses, growing families and visitors who enjoy all that we have to offer.

Waterloo collaborated to ‘support local’ during pandemic love “Eat, Love, Waterloo” and the “Hall on the Wall” support local campaigns?

COVID-19 has impacted evhen COVID-19 began ery aspect of life, but despite to affect the us nationit all, we have seen progress wide, it was predicted amidst the pandemic in Downnearly half of all small busitown Waterloo. We have been nesses may be at risk of closing able to keep things moving in permanently. Downtown Waa forward direction and are terloo business owners did not pleased to see multiple developaccept this and fought to keep ment projects come to completheir businesses going with new tion, projects continue and new and unique ideas. ones begin.

Businesses pulled together The completion of two histo support each other. They toric renovations, the Masonic shopped in each other’s stores, Temple and Friedl Bakery, added ate at each other’s restaurants, CHRIS ZOELLER, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌ almost 40 residential units, collaborated on marketing three storefronts and collaboprojects and got creative. Busi- Jessica Rucker rative workspace to downtown. nesses came up with innovative into the businesses through in- Work on the Art Bloc continued drive-thru. Retailers hosted strategies to keep going and and has positioned it to open creased marketing and efforts weekly Facebook live shopping engage with their customers. events, upgraded their websites such as Takeout Tuesday, Shop early this year, offering 72 resiThey began to adapt and pivot, dential units and a storefront. for online shopping and offered Downtown Saturdays, Holiday recalibrate and recraft their Two new historic renovations Parking program and Mayor curbside pick-up. strategies. began with Lincoln Savings Hart’s 5 for 5 Shop Small ChalFitness facilities offered onRestaurants updated their Bank at TechWorks Campus and lenge. line classes to keep us moving menus and shifted to take-out We also worked with the City the General Machine and Supply and healthy. friendly items. They partnered Company building at Fifth and I have been inspired to see the of Waterloo on the implemenwith delivery companies and Jefferson streets. These project creativity, experimentation and tation of Grab-n-Go Zones, offered curbside pick-up opwill bring new storefronts, resi15-minute free parking for entrepreneurship our downtions. Bars packaged and mardential units, building improveeasy pick-up or drop-off. New town businesses have used to keted their signature drinks, ments and approximately 500 opportunities were generated offering them for carry-out, and address the immediate needs through creative collaborations employees to downtown. and position themselves for a streamed live entertainment.

After years of negotiations that brought us together with successful recovery.

We saw businesses begin to and unknowns, we were excited communitywide campaigns As an organization, Main offer take-home meal kits. One to see progress on the Five Sulliwhich encouraged “support” Street Waterloo worked to find restaurant hosted the world’s van Brothers Convention Center local campaigns. Who didn’t ways to help drive customers largest taco/burrito truck

JESSICA RUCKER

Executive director Main Street Waterloo

‌W

and the completion of the Best Western Plus Executive Residency.

Main Street Waterloo utilized the Main Street America fourpoint approach to work toward cultivating a strategic and comprehensive approach to problem-solving through innovative and entrepreneurial thinking.

We provided businesses with recovery planning tools, guidance, research and best practices to help them persevere through the pandemic.

By using our economic and marketing power to effectively help our small businesses and promote through the pandemic, we were able to help prove that Downtown Waterloo is resilient and continues to grow.

I am proud of what Downtown Waterloo has been able to accomplish during these unprecedented times, and how the community has shown support for small businesses.

Locally-owned businesses are the backbone of our community, and we look forward to being able to gather together and support local with the return to brick-and-mortar shopping, getting a haircut, participating in a fitness class, eating in a restaurant and attending community events.

Cedar Valley a story of steadfast perseverance “The outlook for 2021 is optimistic and will include continued change. We must show steadfastness in doing what is necessary despite how hard it is or how long it takes to reach the goal – that is our perseverance.”

its, and the local economy — and to continue that effort.

Relationships deepen through shared struggles and knowledge here is only one word that can be gained in recognizing can serve as the title of this all the changes we still need to chapter of the Cedar Valmake to thrive in this new and ley’s story: perseverance. unfamiliar reality.

This has been a difficult time It’s OK to smile warmly infor every community, every stead of shaking hands. state, and every country in the It’s OK to adopt remote workworld, but at no time was giving from-home options. up an option. The Cedar Valley It’s OK to explain to custom(like all others) was hit hard but ers and clients that conditions perseverance – the ability to in our transactions may look keep moving ahead despite obconnected with co-workers and different but will continue to stacles – has been highlighted provide exemplary service. customers, dealing with isoin many ways.

While many of these options lation, workplace safety, new Businesses in the Cedar Valley ways to market and message and are not new concepts, we are knew that to get through this how to prepare for life after the now seeing them through a new and get ahead was to keep emlens and have tested their viapandemic. ployees and patrons safe. Supbility. The reality now becomes While we have faced many porting and connecting with how we leverage this new knowlchallenges, it has also inspired one another has never been extraordinary levels of compas- edge and use it to strengthen our more important.

CHRIS ZOELLER, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌ sion, creativity and collaborabusinesses as we move forward.

Learning to not only connect tion. One thing that has become Things will be uncertain and and communicate virtually, Cary Darrah “shifts” are a way of life. apparently evident through but to demonstrate creativThe outlook for 2021 is opthe same time making changes ity in business practices was line resource page updated with all of this – the Cedar Valley timistic and will include conwhen gaps were revealed. Small daily information about ways is strong! There are countless one of the few lifelines. At the tinued change. We must show businesses who quickly learned to access resources specific to tales of bravery and selfless risk of overusing these words, steadfastness in doing what is how to bump up their website, giving, generous support for “pivot,” “innovation” and business success as well as innecessary despite how hard it our community neighbors and “collaboration” became part of adjust their hours of business, formation on the status of the is or how long it takes to reach adopt technologies they never resounding proof that we are our vocabulary. Innovation is pandemic and recovery. There the goal – that is our perseverexpected to try – have and will proud of where we call home. taking place at all levels. Busiwere campaigns to support ance. We can thrive … not just continue to see large returns.

As time presses on, I challenge nesses came through the last local businesses by buying gift year stronger by understanding cards, ordering online and car- everyone to remember how our survive.

At Grow Cedar Valley, we Growth is a mindset – grow their strengths and creatively ry-out. Webinars were provided community rallied to support needed to innovate as well. We our small businesses, nonprof- with us! capitalizing on them while at established and maintain an on- on working remotely, staying CARY DARRAH

President Grow Cedar Valley

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Sunday, February 28, 2021 | K3

Waverly adapts to weather a pandemic ADAM HOFFMAN

Waverly mayor ‌

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he past year presented challenges to our communities we never imagined we would encounter.

The coronavirus pandemic weighed heavily in the city of Waverly, and although the precautions implemented to lessen the spread of the virus affected commerce and our general daily lives, we had much that we learned from, and we were able to adapt to a new environment.

The retail environment entailed stories where businesses stepped into new methods of marketing their products and services. Many businesses that would have never imagined offering delivery or curbside service were virtually forced to adapt to this means of conducting their sales.

These businesses have now added these methods to their standard course of business and would likely continue to offer the service post-pandemic. One business said the pandemic made them try something new and different. Had they not, their business would have floundered and eventually failed.

Early on, it was recognized people wanted reliable, up-todate information. I took the initiative and created the “Bremer County Food/Grocery/Restaurant/Pharmacy Resources” document that listed the current status of countless businesses throughout Bremer County. With the real-time updating format of a Google Sheets file, people were able to see which businesses were open and how each had adapted to the ever-changing environment by visiting one single link at any time.

Within Waverly City Hall, you saw a transition like you did everywhere else. Masks covered noses and mouths, there were Plexiglass partitions, meetings were moved to virtual platforms, and for a period of time, the facility was closed to the public.

We are experiencing growth in our commercial and industrial properties. United Equipment Accessories completed a facility expansion. Titan Machinery relocated within the city to a newly constructed facility, which then opened up the parcel they vacated to new opportunities. The Bremer County Fair’s commitment to call Waverly “home” on the east edge of town is a great opportunity to remain and build on what our city offers for events.

The former Red Fox Inn property redevelopment project will bring an inventory of hotel rooms, restaurants and residential units to the west edge of the city, where additional development is anticipated in the future.

Amidst the pandemic, several businesses have sprung up, including restaurants, clothing stores and service businesses.

On the horizon, we have a light year of capital improvement projects drafted for the FYE 2022 budget. The reconstruction of First Street NW and CHRIS ZOELLER, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌ the Cedar Lane culvert reconstruction are the two major road Adam Hoffman projects. Phase 2 of 3 phases of the Cedar River Park youth ball complex is in the financial mix ished as well. clubs were sponsored by the liEven though these barriers this year, something the comIn addition to capital imwere implemented, it did not re- brary while others were started munity is excited to see come to provement activity, we expestrict access for the public to en- by groups of friends as a means fruition. rienced growth in our housing to remain connected. gage with city staff and elected As a city, we continue to build market. Between the addition The most typical measureofficials. The public was always upon the premise that Waverly of 11 new single-family units ment of progress in a commuwelcome to schedule an apnity is seen in the completion of and four multi-family units, we is progressive and will seek oppointment to conduct business portunities to continue to be an gained a $4,582,958 residential in-person. The closure was sim- capital improvement projects. attractive river community for ply to control the flow of visitors Several of these were completed valuation increase, in addition all walks of life. This past year, to the valuation growth on exin Waverly in 2020, as well. in an effort to protect our staff. the city unveiled the “Waverly isting units.

Road surface reconstruction, Like most other municipal Welcome Home” marketing The Whitetail Bluff housing pedestrian safety and railroad libraries, the Waverly Public campaign to showcase all that addition is under development crossing improvements were Library implemented measures Waverly has to offer. and will add 35 new residento protect patrons and staff. The completed on 20th Street NW; I believe we weathered the another phase of the downtown tial lots to the city’s inventory. availability of the contactless storm of 2020 the best we could, Several are already sold. This exchange of media materials and alley reconstruction was comand we have our city staff, comsubdivision offers riverfront pleted; the Fourth Street SW quarantining of returned items lots, which are rarely available in mitted business owners/operreconstruction and widening was employed successfully and ators and citizens to thank as well used. “Do-it-yourself” kits was accomplished; Business 218 Waverly. This growth is in line west was resurfaced; 10th Street with what was learned from the we break through into 2021 and for children and adults were beyond.

2020 Housing Needs Assessoffered, and several new virtual SW was reconstructed; and the I look forward to what lies in ment which encourages ongoing airport runway extension and book clubs were started in the store for Waverly’s future. housing development. community. Some of these book obstruction removal was fin-

Volunteers, businesses drive efforts in downtown CF and amazing artists who love downtown and wanted to bring joy to anyone who walked the streets. Families were grateicture the Cedar Falls ful for an activity to take part Downtown District, full of in downtown. Again, you all people and not a mask in showed up. sight, with people embracing I would be remiss if I didn’t and enjoying themselves. mention the group that had This was Community Main two goals for 2020: Decorate Street’s vision for 2020, andowntown for the holidays and other year of promoting, celbring Santa to town. The goals ebrating and looking forward were set to achieve some sense to the growth of this historic of normalcy, to let the kiddos district. know that COVID didn’t take That vision quickly changed.

Santa away, too.

The year started as anything This amazing committee put but normal, when our direcso many hours into planning a tor of 10 years left to do great three-hour event. They chatted things for Iowa as a downtown every day and recruited lots consultant for Main Street of volunteers to help pull off a Iowa. Our fiery staff of four reverse parade that included lost its heartbeat, and I was 13 different stations instead tasked with being the interim of one arrival. Their heart and director. commitment is something Shortly after, we cancelled that is a pleasure to be a part our first two events because of, and I hope they all know of the pandemic. Spring Shop how amazing they are. Was it Hop and the 12th year of Hops perfect? No. Did we make miswere postponed. As the safety takes? We did. But were there of our community was our bigover 1,500 carloads of smiles? gest concern and businesses were forced to close, Hops was CHRIS ZOELLER, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌ 100%. It was an overwhelming experience because so many later cancelled. The fourth Kim Bear people showed up. year of the Downtown Show Community Main Street and Shine also was postponed functions to support downdle of a global pandemic.

Who to the fall, but was eventually “We can’t wait to see what 2021 brings. doesn’t want to watch “Field of town and relies heavily on a cancelled.

In the meantime, we look forward to Dreams” under the stars on the large group of volunteers to pull We began to host meetings off each and everything we do. comfort of your own tailgate? through Zoom as we navigated seeing the community continue Our volunteers watered the You showed up, with carloads from our laptops and home flowers all season long. Our of eager faces, when we all offices. We shifted Girls’ Night to be safe and support local.” needed it the most. Who knew volunteers called businesses Out to a Facebook Live event to check in on them. Our volan empty parking lot would taking place over several days. unteers supported local, and make everything seem more Our Movies Under the Moon businesses. We asked you to We watched business owners step out of their comfort zones shop online, pick up curbside, group of partners did just that. normal for just a little while on in the end, we will all be better a Friday night in the summer of people for having survived Outside the box meant we while they sold online, for what order take-out and buy gift 2020. went old school and provided a 2020? certificates, and you did. You was the first time for some.

Let us end with a big sigh, if New partnerships were drive-in theater at the Univershowed up and supported loYou tuned in, you watched for no other reason than we all formed by simply asking the sity of Northern Iowa. cal. and you supported the busimade it through 2020. community if they wanted to Thanks to our partners the We began to look at all of nesses. You took shopping We can’t wait to see what display a scarecrow downtown.

Gallagher Bluedorn and the online and gave it the local flair our events through a different 2021 brings. In the meantime, The district was swarmed Hearst Center, not to menlens, thinking outside the box everyone craved. we look forward to seeing the by scarecrows from families, Our marketing approach was and trying to figure out how to tion the amazing sponsors of civic organizations, businesses community continue to be safe now targeted around how YOU still provide something for the this event, we were able to do and support local. something positive in the mid- from all over the community could still support these small community while being safe.

KIM BEAR

Executive director Cedar Falls Community Main Street

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PERSEVERANCE

K4 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

Years In Business 184 YEARS 121 YEARS Woolverton

99 YEARS Farnsworth

“Helping you move forward” Electronics John Lynch - President/ Owner” “Electronic Parts Distributors” 6714 Chancellor Drive 2806 Falls Ave., Waterloo, IA Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-234-6681 800-670-7713 www.woolverton.com www.FarnsworthElectronics.com

171 YEARS 119 YEARS P & J Equipment Grain Handling Specialists 8 mi. S. of W’loo on Dysart Rd. LaPorte City, IA 319-342-3542

Insurance and Travel 3366 Kimball Ave. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-236-3620 www.mn-ia-aaa.com

169 YEARS 116 YEARS Wartburg College

100 Wartburg Blvd.

Waverly, IA 50677 1-800-772-2085 www.wartburg.edu

162 YEARS The Courier

Spahn & Rose 850 6th St. Jesup, IA 319-827-1448 www.spahnandrose.com

115 YEARS Iowa Securities Investment Corp.

100 E. 4th St. Waterloo, IA 319-291-1497 www.wcfcourier.com

Serving Iowans with Commercial real estate Loans/Investments Since 1906 3346 Kimball Ave., Waterloo, IA 319-236-3334 www.Iowasecurities.com

161 YEARS

114 YEARS

WATERLOO | CEDAR FALLS

First Maxfield Mutual Insurance 801 S. State St., Denver, IA 50622 319-984-5255 www.firstmaxfield.com

Levi Bros. Jewelers “JEWELERS SINCE 1908” 306 E. 4th, Waterloo, IA 319-233-6951

160 YEARS 112 YEARS FOUNDED IN 1862

Richardson Funeral Service

Fereday Heating and Air Conditioning

99 YEARS

Leo’s Italian Restaurant and Generations Lounge Authentic Italian Cuisine 29 South Frederick Oelwein, IA 50662 319-283-1655 www.leositaliandining.com

98 YEARS Meyers Nursery (A Division of FL&M)

Schumacher Elevator Sales, Service, Modernization

Denver, IA 319-984-5676 SchumacherElevator.com

85 YEARS Service Roofing Company

The Cedar Valley’s leading Low-Slope Commercial Roofing Contractor 123 Arizona St., Waterloo 319-232-4535 www.serviceroofing.net

85 YEARS Standard Distribution Co.

The people that know how to grow!

1685 Independence Ave. Waterloo, IA 50707 319-232-3954 www.meyersnursery.com

317 Savannah Park Road Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-9299 www.standarddist.com

95 YEARS

84 YEARS

RSM US LLP Audit, tax and consulting services to help middle market leaders succeed

999 Home Plaza, Suite 300 Waterloo, IA 50701 319-235-9995 www.rsmus.com

95 YEARS

Kirk Gross Co.

83 YEARS

Farmers Savings Bank Blue Line Moving & Storage, Inc. Fred Rewoldt and Martha

94 YEARS Superior Welding Supply Co.

83 YEARS Wilber Auto Body & Salvage Family Owned Since 1939

7th and Commercial Waterloo, IA 319-232-6861

Shop: 232-5927, Yard: 232-1747

157 YEARS 111 YEARS

91 YEARS

81 YEARS

Serving YOU First 319-352-1340 www.firstiowa.bank

Varsity Cleaners

Full shirt laundry service Dry Cleaning Shirt Laundry Alterations Drapes and More

Bloom Manufacturing, LLC Independence, IA 50644 www.bloommfg.com

153 YEARS 110 YEARS an SK Company

Printing & Promotional Products, Office Supplies & Furniture 514 Bratnober St., Waterloo, IA 319-234-4621

YWCA Black Hawk County 425 Lafayette St. Waterloo, IA 50703 319-234-7589 www.ywcabhc.org

149 YEARS 110 YEARS Black Hawk Mutual Insurance Association

National Cigar Store

Your Complete Newsstand Featuring quality pipes - cigars - tobaccos and liquor.

Providing Farm and Home 617 Sycamore Insurance for Black Hawk and Waterloo, IA 50703 surrounding counties.

353 E. Eldora Road Hudson, IA 319-234-5958 319-988-4101 www.nationalcigar.com

216 W. 11th, Waterloo, IA 319-233-3571 www.varsitycleaners.com

90 YEARS

Allison & Readlyn, Iowa 319-267-2035

107 years of family auctioneering.

“Since 1914” Waterloo, IA 319-235-6007 www.hilpipre.com

134 YEARS 106 YEARS Black Hawk Electrical Co. Since 1905

319-233-8441

1615 Jefferson St. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-233-3387 www.blackhawkelectrical.com

125+ YEARS 105 YEARS Iowa Custom Machine

Lazer Cutting & CNC Machining | General Machine Work 206 Edwards, Waterloo, IA 319-233-3918

PDCM Insurance

Locally Owned Since 1916 3022 Airport Blvd.

Waterloo, IA 50703 319-234-8888 www.pdcm.com

1246 Martin Road Waterloo, IA 50701 319-232-5400 www.cardinalconst.com

620 Lafayette St. Waterloo, IA 319-234-1766 www.Beecherlaw.com

126 YEARS 102 YEARS Michael Painting and Decorating Co. Painting and Decorating Quality Since 1895 1008 Jefferson Waterloo, IA 50701 319-232-3755

Schoitz Engineering, Inc. Hwy. 63 South Waterloo, IA 319-234-6615

122 YEARS 101 YEARS Palace Clothiers “Clothing You For Life’s Important Moments” 2110 E. Kimball Ave. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-234-7537 www.palaceclothiers.com

Tjernagel Insurance

Complete Insurance Since 1920 2920 Falls Ave. Waterloo, IA 319-235-6719 www.tjernagelins.com

45 YEARS

Cedar Falls Mobile Home Village

Toby’s Tax

Family Owned and Operated Tom Petersen, Owner 520 Main St. Hudson, IA 50643 319-988-3231 www.petersenhhph.com

Overhead Door Company of Waterloo

51 YEARS

Backes Auctioneers & Realty

800 Commercial Street Waterloo, IA 319-233-0471 www.ohdcwaterloo.com

Quiet Park-New/Used Sales 1 mile W. of the UNI-DOME 319-266-6093 www.cedarvillagecommunity.com

319-277-2528

6605 Dubuque Road Raymond, IA 50667 1-800-876-8070 www.backes-auction.com

72 YEARS

63 YEARS

57 YEARS

51 YEARS

45 YEARS

Warren Transport, Inc.

210 Beck Ave. Waterloo, IA 319-233-6113 www.warrentransport.com

72 YEARS Big River Equip.

71 YEARS

Don Gardner Construction Company

71 YEARS

Schuck Realty Co.

70 YEARS

Waterloo and La Porte City, IA 319-342-2312 or 319-233-3318 www.carneycpa.com

88 YEARS

75 YEARS

Huff Contracting, Inc.

Join Our Team!

1309 Technology Pkwy.

Cedar Falls, IA 319-833-1099 www.cbejobs.com

1310 Grandview Avenue Waterloo, IA 50703 319-233-9000 www.huffcontractinginc.com

87 YEARS

74 YEARS

Cronin, Skilton & Skilton Law Firm Providing quality legal services to our clients.

205 Brasher St. Nashua, IA, 50658 641-435-2462 www.csskiltonlaw.com

Manatt’s (Several locations across Iowa) 105 BMC Drive Elk Run Heights, IA 50707 319-833-7648 www.manatts.com

73 YEARS

Peoples Appliance

1826 Black Hawk St. Waterloo, IA 319-234-6845 www.bdiexpress.com

Residential and Commercial Wiring 725 Adams St. Waterloo, IA 319-232-9808

67 YEARS Don’s TV & Maximum Sight and Sound

65 YEARS

Grout Museum District

451 LaPorte Rd. Waterloo, IA 319-232-0140

73 YEARS

64 YEARS

Tomlinson Cannon

Stickfort Electric Co

Solving Water Problems Since 1948 319-234-1223 www.tomlinson-cannon.com

201 E 22nd St. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-266-5438 www.stickfortelectric.com

Frickson Bros.

Excavating Family Owned Bob Frickson, owner Specializing in sewers, waters, basements, and demolition.

319-235-0080

64 YEARS Iowa Wall Systems, Inc.

Rely on us for all Drywall, Painting and Insulation needs.

4601 Crestwood Dr. Waterloo, IA 319-296-1663 www.iowawallsystems.com

55 YEARS

50 YEARS

LaPorte City Specialty Care

Zarifus Barber Shop

3 Barbers to Serve You 2124 Kimball Ave. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-233-8746 www.zarifisbarbershop.com

3321 Cedar Heights Drive Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-2121

61 YEARS

Provider of Mass Transportation 1515 Blackhawk Street Waterloo, IA 50702 319-234-5714 www.mettransit.org

I Care Certified Environmentally Friendly We sell Quality used parts and buy wrecked or unwanted cars.

945 Lowell Ave., Waterloo, IA 319-232-0704

45 YEARS

53 YEARS

49 YEARS

44 YEARS

John Deery Motors

Thompson Real Estate Thompson Farm Real Estate

Nissan Lincoln Mitsubishi 6823 University, Cedar Falls, IA 319-277-6200

53 YEARS

49 YEARS

Paulson Electric Co. Of Waterloo Electrical Contractors 1915 Jefferson St. Waterloo, IA 233-3543

53 YEARS Ford, Kia, VW, & Chevy 20833 La Porte Rd. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-234-4200 2728 Main St., Cedar Falls 319-277-8123 www.withamauto.com

61 YEARS

Wayne Claassen Engineering AND SURVEYING, INC. 2705 University Ave. Waterloo, IA 319-235-6294

61 YEARS Financial Decisions Group

Trust, Dependability, Experience

Cedar Falls Historical Society

“If You Need a Garage You Want ACTION!!”

Free Estimate

527 Park Lane, Waterloo, IA 50703 319-233-8911 www.clarkpo.com

See us on Facebook!

Waterloo, IA

Coffman’s Body Shop

319-232-1477 actiongaragebuilders.com

Jesup, IA

Ford Has Been Here Serving You

319-234-2416

45 YEARS

319-827-1463

1134 220th St.

Morg’s Diner 520 Mulberry St.

Directional Boring contractors 3822 W. Airline Waterloo, IA 319-232-4807

1906 State St., Cedar Falls Iowa 50613 319-277-3288 www.coffmansbodyshop.com ccoffman@cfu.net

Family owned since 1959

Recognized, Respected, Recommended for providing nothing but the best Service in the Cedar Valley!

45 YEARS

Pat’s Auto Salvage

Store, Inc.

Coldwell Banker Elevated Real Estate

Waterloo, IA 319-233-7649

Met Transit

We are in the People Business

Narey’s 19th Hole

2125 Falls Avenue

Hoffman & Hoffman Boubin Automotive Trenching, Inc. Service Underground Utility and

Action Garage Builders

59 YEARS

319-287-9106 www.CFNEIA.org

“Try TnK for a Healthier Way” 1023 Peoples Square, Waterloo, IA 319-235-0246 www.tnkhealth.net

B&B Farm

65 YEARS Here for good.

Featuring quality western boots.

3574 W Shaulis Road Waterloo, IA 50701 319-988-4539 www.silverspurshop.com

Credit Union

3013 Greyhound Dr. Waterloo, IA 50701 319-233-8476 www.FDG.net

Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa

Transmission Rebuilders, Inc.

49 YEARS

4017 University Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-234-0344 www.maximumsightandsound.com

The Grout Museum District offers four distinct museums to discover the past, present and future, and your place in it.

503 South Street Waterloo, IA 50701 319-234-6357 www.gmdistrict.org

Amana, Maytag, Kitchenaide Speed Queen, Frigidaire Adam Morris

85 YEARS 73 YEARS BDI

Art Carter and Son Electric

45 YEARS

TnK Health Food Store

54 YEARS

61 YEARS

67 YEARS

51 YEARS

62 YEARS

69 YEARS

Wood, Metal and Plastic Patterns Full CAD/CAM Services 84 W. 11th St. Waterloo, IA 319-232-7993

86 YEARS

Property and Liability Insurance for Businesses and Individuals 611 Ansborough Ave. Waterloo, IA 50701 319-233-8459

76 YEARS

76 YEARS

56 YEARS Silver Spur Saddle Shop

49 YEARS

2073 Logan Ave. Waterloo, IA 50703 319-234-9739

Midwest Pattern Co.

319-260-2250 www.kjandkompany.com

912 West Viking Road Cedar Falls, IA 50613

55 YEARS

Elliott-Hartman Agency

3731 Kimball Ave. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-232-1143 www.vanderloochiropractic.com

Wholesale-Retail Custom Processing 322 Main St., La Porte City, IA 319-342-2693 www.KramerSausage.com

62 YEARS

70 Years in Business Concrete, paving brick, block.

Waterloo, IA 319-233-0168

Innovation to Design Professionals 6201 Chancellor Dr. Cedar Falls, IA 319-277-5538 www.rapidsrepro.com

Vanderloo Chiropractic Clinic

1935 Enterprise Ave. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-236-9651 www.boubin.com

“Foodservice with a Difference” 406 Viking Rd. Cedar Falls, IA www.martinbros.com

In business for 89 years doing Flat generations.

Work and Concrete Raising.

1519 West 4th, Waterloo, IA 3220 Panther Lane, Cedar Falls, IA 319-233-6138 319-266-6202 www.lockefuneralhome.com www.chriscrete.com

Kramer Sausage Co.

For All of Life’s Health Transitions 319-342-2125

62 YEARS

69 YEARS

110 Clay St Cedar Falls, IA

From Concept Through Completion, We Are Your Engineering Firm!

5106 Nordic Drive Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-266-0258 www.cgaconsultants.com

Bowers Masonry, Inc.

76 YEARS

New radiators - heaters fuel tanks Air conditioning sales and service USED CAR SALES 724 Jefferson, Waterloo, IA 319-235-9529

Clapsaddle-Garber Associates, Inc. (CGA)

70 YEARS

89 YEARS

Stoner Radiator

62 YEARS

Martin Bros.

Distributing Co., Inc.

Dennis C Christensen Locke Funeral Home Rapids Reproductions, Inc. & Sons Concrete Where your wishes 69 Years of Delivering Construction have governed for four

Florists & Greenhouses Deeply Rooted in the Cedar Valley Family owned & operated 2275 Independence Ave. Waterloo, IA 50707 319-234-6883 www.ptflowers.com

Ray Mount Wrecker Service

123 W 4th Street Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-266-7531 www.cfccu.org

999 Home Plaza, Waterloo IA 50701 319-277-8000 www.LockardRealty.com

Petersen & Tietz

63 YEARS

Dr. Bradley Kneeland Taking care of your furry friends.

1799 Ansborough Waterloo, IA 50701 319-234-7511 www.ppcvets.com

Serving Automotive Needs Since 1945 1505 West 1st Cedar Falls, IA 319-277-5343

CBE Companies

Iowa’s Oldest UL Listed Burglar Alarm Company 16 W. Commercial Waterloo, IA 319-232-0490

Pawsitive Pet Care Cedar Falls Community

Diamonds • Pandora 229 E. 5th Street, Downtown, Waterloo RothJewelers.com

Carney, Alexander, Marold & Co., L.L.P., CPAs

Hawkeye Alarm and Signal Co.

829 Sycamore Street Forklift Sales, Service, Parts, & Rental Waterloo, IA 50703 2950 West Airline Hwy.,Waterloo, IA 319-232-4444 800-455-8409 www.raymountwrecker.com bigriverequipment.com

Schuerman Auto Repair

SinCe 1931 Bridal Fashion Custom Service

126 YEARS 103 YEARS 86 YEARS Cardinal Construction Beecher, Field, Walker, Morris, Hoffman & Inc. Johnson, P.C. General Contractor

58 YEARS

Lockard Companies

145 YEARS 107 YEARS 89 YEARS Hilpipre Auction Co.

64 YEARS

Joyce HarrensteinBroker/Owner Bockholt Rewoldt started the AGENT: United Van Lines REAL ESTATE bank in Feb. 1926 5614 Nordic Dr. OUR ONLY BUSINESS FDIC. No Service Charge Cedar Falls, IA Parkersburg, IA 319-266-3591 Frederika, IA Shop: 232-5927 | Yard: 232-1747 319-346-1364 or 319-404-1502 319-275-4301 www.schuckrealtyco.com www.bluelinemoving.com www.frederikabank.com

Serving the community and industry for 94 years

First Bank

72 YEARS

Petersen Hudson Hdwe.

Plumbing & Heating

“1937-2020” Com’l, Ind’l, Res’l Your one source for Casey Gardner-Pres. successful business facilities.

Jacob Gardner-VP/Owner 4015 Alexandra Dr. 315 LaPorte Rd., Waterloo, IA Waterloo, IA 50702 319-234-6641 319-234-0272 www.kirkgross.com www.dongardnerconstruction.com

“Always Dependable, Honest Service & Fair Prices” 1010 Broadway Waterloo, IA 50703 615 Main St., Cedar Falls, IA 233-8411 or 268-9110 www.feredayheating.com 319-266-3525 Noble-Brown-Jung-KunzNelson-Richardson

orte City IA

85 YEARS

Witham Auto Centers

53 YEARS K&S Wheel Alignment Service

Cedar Falls Brown Bottle Italian dining 1111 Center Street, Cedar Falls IA 319-266-2616 www.thebrownbottle.com

Lic. Iowa & Minnesota 319-239-4130 Thompsonfarmrealestate.com

44 YEARS

Automotive Service Solutions dba Automotive Electric “Serving N.E.I.A.” automotiveelectric.com Gary Gilbert owner Dennis Rogers svc advisor” 500 W. 5th, Waterloo, IA 319-233-4466

48 YEARS

44 YEARS

Stephen D. Knapp

Ryan Exterminating, Inc.

REALTOR 319-493-4000 sknapp@lockardrealty.com

48 YEARS Black Hawk Gymnastics

Imports, Front Wheel 180 Provision Parkway Drives, Domestics Waterloo, IA 50701 500 Ansborough, Waterloo 319-233-2533 IA 50701 319-232-9991 www.BlackHawkGymnastics.com

Pest Control & Radon Testing 6607 Hammond Ave. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-296-3227

44 YEARS Omega Cabinetry Proudly employing quality craftsmen and women 319-235-5700 www.omegacabinetry.com

48 YEARS

43 YEARS

Asphalt Paving Contractors 3613 Texas St. Waterloo, IA 50704 319-232-6537 asproinc.com

999 Home Plaza, Suite 201 Waterloo, IA 50701 319-833-5555 www.eslickfinancial.com

52 YEARS

47 YEARS

43 YEARS

Milroy’s Tuxedos

Blackhawk Automatic Sprinklers, Inc.

Dierks Tree Transplant, INC.

52 YEARS Murphy’s Auto Service L.L.C. Since 1969 414 East 7th Street Waterloo, IA 319-234-9752

Formal Wear

Aspro, Inc.

Dennis Eslick Eslick Financial Group

308 W 3rd St. Cedar Falls IA 50613 319-266-5149 www.cfhistory.org

1216 Commercial Street Waterloo, IA 50702 319-233-5222 www.milroystuxedos.com

59 YEARS

52 YEARS

Family Owned Highway Construction Business 3533 W. Airline Hwy. Waterloo, IA 50703 319-235-6746

We have served the Cedar Valley over 52 years!

3754 West Airline Hwy. Waterloo, IA 50703 319-234-5575 www.mcgowansfurniture.com

59 YEARS

52 YEARS

46 YEARS

42 YEARS

A radio communications company.

Power Engineering Manufacturing LTD

Cedar Valley Hospice

59 YEARS

51 YEARS

45 YEARS

42 YEARS

Over 59 years’ experience!

1127 Jefferson St. Waterloo, IA 1-800-728-6665 communitybuildersia.com

219 Cordoba Ave.

6109 Chancellor Drive Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-266-0161 www.hellandsurveying.com

Specializing in farm and land auctions 1878 310th Street Ionia. IA 50645 319-269-5161 See us on Facebook!

Cedar Falls Construction Co.

Town & Country Home Improvement

4920 Dubuque Rd. Waterloo, IA 50703 319-235-9565 www.TCHomeImprovement.com

McGowan’s Furniture

RC Systems

525 E. 18th St. Cedar Falls, IA 319-266-7721

Specializing in large tree transplanting. Nursery stock available.

Cedar Falls, IA 319-277-7173

46 YEARS

42 YEARS

NORTH STAR COMMUNITY SERVICES Supported Living & Day Programs for adults with disabilities.

319-236-0901 www.northstarcs.org

2635 W.C.F. & N. Dr. - Video Surveillance Waterloo, IA 50703 - Access Controls 319-232-2311 We Service All Major Brands 1657 Falls Ave. Waterloo, IA www.pemltd.com 319-234-3511 e-mail sales@pemltd.com

Basket of Daisies 116 Main Street Cedar Falls, IA 50613 317-277-3286 www.basketofdaisies.com

Waterloo | Grundy Center Independence | Waverly 319-272-2002 800-626-2360 www.cvhospice.org

Community Builders Larry Gregory Insurance Hellend Engineering Ray Dietz Auctioneering & Real Estate Supply Co. & Surveying LTD For All Your Insurance Needs

More Years In Business on next page.

Cedar Falls, IA 319-277-4162 lgsol@cfu.net

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PERSEVERANCE

Sunday, February 28, 2021 | K5

Years In Business 42 YEARS

Automatic Amusements, Inc. This is our final Year.

“Thank you for letting us serve you!”

39 YEARS

Quail’s Auto Salvage “Why Buy New When Used Will Do” 202 Glendale St., Waterloo, IA 50703

29 YEARS

BW Contractors, Inc. Family owned Industrial machinery moving & rigging shrink wrap services.

7741 Waverly Road Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-987-2070 www.bwcontractorsinc.com

422 Commercial St., Waterloo 319-291-2000 www.communitybt.bank

Milt, Reggie & Joe 319-232-1371

319-234-7715

41 YEARS

39 YEARS

28 YEARS

24 YEARS Deery Brothers Collision Center

Schaefers

Quam Trucking

Water Treatment & Plumbing We’re proud to be part of the community.

3130 Marnie Ave. Waterloo, IA 50701 319-233-2038 www.rainsoftneiowa.com

Any Size • Any Place • Any Town We Travel Call Anytime 319-236-1956 or 319-269-1544

3842 Osage Rd. Waterloo, Iowa 50703 319-234-5393 www.quamtrucking.com quamtrkllc.com

41 YEARS

39 YEARS

28 YEARS

24 YEARS

Sweerin Brothers

Gulbranson’s Appliance Service

Rainsoft of NE Iowa

Midwest Boats Sales & Repair 6818 Street Rd, Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-232-1268 www.midwestboatrepair.com

41 YEARS INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL

Satisfaction...

Today & Tomorrow Since 1980 319-266-0807

41 YEARS Cover-All Embroidery, INC. Corporate Wearables And Work Wear 1808 East. St., Cedar Falls 319-277-2385 www.coverallembroidery.com

41 YEARS Diamond Body Shop SPECIALIZING IN COLLISION REPAIR “Quality Is Never An Accident” 3419 Lafayette, Evansdale 319-235-0479 www.diamondsbodyshop.com

40 YEARS

Tree Stump Removal

VJ Engineering

Civil/Structural Engineering Masonry and Surveying Concrete and Masonry 1501 Technology Parkway Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-235-9698 319-266-5829 www.vjengineering.com sweerinbrothersmasonry.com

39 YEARS Youngblut Motors Dave, Tadley and Howard

120 Vinton Waterloo. IA 50703 319-232-6849 youngblutmotors.com

36 YEARS

Gray Transportation, Inc. Let Us - Help You Save Transportation Dollars!

Waterloo, IA 50703 1-800-234-3930

36 YEARS Craig Holdiman REAL ESTATE APPRAISER

27 YEARS K Properties Real Estate Leasing

Fast professional service on all major brands.

24 YEARS Jazzercise Waterloo/ Denver www.jazzercise.com

26 YEARS

23 YEARS

319-984-5115

Learn & Play Preschool & Daycare

Quality Electrical work and Customer Service Quality care for children six 3008 S Hudson Rd. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 weeks through preschool age.

319-232-6373 120 Clark Street, Evansdale, IA www.henningerelectric.com 319-236-6632

26 YEARS of Service

TRINKETS & TOGS THRIFT STORE Specializing in Residential Support our mission with

Real Estate Appraisals locations in Waverly, Grundy Center, Cedar Falls 526 Midlothian, 236-2942 www.larrabeecenter.org www.holdimanappraisals.com

23 YEARS Wrage Realty

Farms, Residential and Acreages David J. Wrage, Broker 315 Main Street Dysart, IA 52224 319-476-7070 Cell: 319-640-8388

23 YEARS

National Farm Toy Museum

American Pattern & CNC Works, Inc.

In Waterloo 100 Years as a Company

1304 Technology Pkwy Ste 200 Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-8541 www.pipac.com

1110 16th Avenue Ct. SE Dyersville, IA 52040 563-875-2727 www.nationalfarmtoymuseum.com

5540 Westminster Dr. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-268-2233 www.americanpattern.com

40 YEARS

35 YEARS

Solving metals’ wear, corrosion & abrasion issues 2825 MidPort Blvd.

Waterloo, IA 50703 319-232-5221 2839 Burton Ave., Waterloo IA 50703 • 319-232-5221 www.ahtcorp.com

40 YEARS C & C Welding and Sandblasting

Owners: Jeff and Bryant Cizek Western SnowEx & Boss snow plows | B & W Gooseneck Hitches

1714 River St. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-232-4741 www.candcwelding.com

40 YEARS Magee Construction

“We carry carpet, vinyl, wood, ceramic, laminate.

Sales & Installation Established 1986”

All Makes of Vacuums 111 West 4th Street Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-266-0105 See us on Facebook!

40 YEARS Anderson Collision 516 Washington St.

34 YEARS

We Tote the Note Used cars of all types 2009 Commercial St. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-232-4667 www.reedysautosalesllc.com

We love it when you succeed!

915 Technology Parkway Cedar Falls, IA 50613 877-321-4992 www.mudd.com

39 YEARS Servicemaster

by Harris

Air - Web - Ink 1501 Technology Pkwy.

Ste. 200 Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-232-4332 www.impactmt.com

Cedar Falls, IA 319-575-2052 Janesville, IA 50613 319-987-4052 www.SunlessByBombshell.com

19 YEARS

3 YEARS

Highway 63 Diner Steak House

Marv’s Bait and Tackle

3030 Marnie Avenue Waterloo, IA 50701 319-232-0635 highway56diner.com

3407 Lafayette Rd. Evansdale, Iowa 50707 319-252-0462 Follow Marv’s Bait and Tackle on Facebook

19 YEARS

Acupuncture & Chinese Medical Clinic

18 YEARS Pump Haus Pub & Grill

18 YEARS

Emerson Crane Rental

Dizdarevic Construction LLC

26 YEARS

22 YEARS

18 YEARS

Montage

4150 Kimball Avenue Waterloo, Iowa 50701 319-235-5390 www.cedarvalleymedical.com We Specialize in You.

Make Your Mouth Dance!

Turnkey Associates

33 YEARS

Coachlight Homes

25 YEARS

22 YEARS

Wilson Restaurant Supply

32 YEARS Riley’s Floors

25 YEARS Service Signing LC

Family owned & operated Complete line of traffic with over 30 years control devices for sale or rental. experience!

3533 W. Airline Hwy. 3230 Marnie Ave. Waterloo, IA 50703 Waterloo, IA 50701 319-233-9911 319-235-9356 www.rileysfloors.com www.servicesigning.com

32 YEARS

Douglas Trunnell Insurance Agency

Brothers Construction, Inc. Remodeling - New Construction 319-215-6337

Glass Tech Auto Glass

Repair & Replacement Thank you for your business!

1925 Waterloo Rd. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-268-9850 www.glasstechcedarfalls.com

22 YEARS

Professional Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning, Inc. The Solution to Your Cleaning Needs 319-266-6947 www.procleaninginc.com

3015 Greyhound Dr. Waterloo IA 50701 319-232-4242

18 YEARS

RE/MAX Alliance Licensed in the State of Iowa 300 S. State St. Denver, IA 50622 319-939-1611 bartelsk@hotmail.com

16 YEARS Advanced Automotive 202 W. Gilbert Dr. Evansdale, IA 50707 319-232-7658 www.aas202.com

25 YEARS

22 YEARS

Jason Strelow

16 YEARS

New York Life

Fleming’s Landscaping and More

25 YEARS

Curran Plumbing Inc. Rod Curran - Owner Since 1996 “The Plumber Your Friends Call” Waterloo, IA 50701 319-233-0353

John Fitzpatrick and Jeff Fitzpatrick 319-287-5915

15 YEARS

King Automotive

B&B Lock Key “A Better Locksmith”

AND “Complete Auto and Truck Repair” 425 LaPorte Rd. Waterloo 319-234-8822

2200 Falls Ave. Waterloo, IA 50701 319-234-5397 After Hours: 319-232-1973

30 YEARS

25 YEARS

21 YEARS

13 YEARS

Kvale Insurance

LJ’s Welding &

1425 W 5th St.

Fabrication

McLaughlin INVESTMENT SERVICES

Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo

Waterloo, IA 50702 319-833-9428 www.kvaleinsurance.com

29 YEARS Friends of the Family

141 Center St. Waterloo, IA 50703 319-236-2844

25 YEARS Breakenridge Memorials

Casey McLaughlin, Registered Prinicipal - Since 1984 full service brokerage.

621 Grant Ave, Waterloo, IA 50702 287-5080

Casino Hotel Resort 777 Isle of Capri Blvd.

Waterloo, IA 50701 877-ISLE-WIN www.islewaterloo.com

20 YEARS

12 YEARS

JSA Development

Revitalizing Downtown Waterloo One Great Building at a Time 215 E 4th Street Waterloo, IA 50703 319-233-3147 www.jsadevelopment.com

when you

Outdoor Living at it’s Best!

Over 27 years experience.

319-240-9565 www.flemingslandscapingandmore.com

22 YEARS

P.O. Box 561 Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-7000

Connecting local

BUYERS

“Bring Your Body Back Into Balance” 3120 Kimball Professional Bldg., Suite 3118 • Waterloo, IA 50702 319-236-3363 www.taraacupuncture.com

23 YEARS

Safe Shelter - Housing “Let us show you Assistance - Case the difference” Management 319-988-4051 319-352-1108 Family Owned and 432 Locust St., Waterloo Operated Crisis Line: 1-800-410-7233 IA 50701 Joe and Dawn www.fofia.org 319-291-3991 www.breakenridgememorials.com www.smbyharris.com

Providing Fire and Water Damage Restoration, Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning, Mold Remediation and Custodial Services

4 YEARS

Sunless By Bombshell Over 10 years of experience!

East Iowa Plastics, Inc.

222 Main Street Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-268-7222 www.montage-cf.com

We specialize in brick oven pizzas in minutes!

126 E Ridgeway Ave. Waterloo, IA 50702 319-252-4471 Yourpie.com

CLASSIFIEDS

40 YEARS Mudd Advertising

20 YEARS Impact Marketing

26 YEARS

Reedy’s Auto Sales Cedar Valley Medical Specialists Mike and Derrick Reedy

High Quality Preschool & Child Care 1744 Falls Ave. Waterloo, IA 50701 319-234-1060 www.activemindsia.com

Your Pie

Family owned and operated 601 17th Street S.E. 3135 Marine Ave. 3488 Wagner Rd. 3400 S. Hudson Rd. Independence, IA 50644 Waterloo, IA 50701 Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Waterloo, IA 50703 319-334-2552 319-234-9114 319-493-0254 319-988-3587 www.eastiowaplastics.com www.dizdarevicconstruction.com www.emersoncranerental.com www.dandwflooring.com

40 YEARS 31 YEARS 215 W. 9th St. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 277-8121 Serving Families For 40 Years

Conagra Brands

7 YEARS

Active Minds Early Learning Center

4 YEARS

20 YEARS

Chapman Electric Inc.

311 Main Street Downtown Cedar Falls 319-277-8111 www.thepumphaus.com

1118 Ansborough Ave. Safeco - Travelers Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Progressive - State AutoWaterloo, IA 50701 Nationwide 319-277-5661 319-961-3000 (cell) 3826 Cedar Heights Dr. www.Andersoncollision.com Cedar Falls, IA 50613 www.berkshirehathawayhs.com/ 319-277-2320 info@andersoncollision.com www.dtrunnellinsurance.com One-Realty-Centre-IA302

Casa Montessori School

20 YEARS

Cetek Inc. Industrial Controls

Offering Outstanding Grooming & Boarding to the Cedar Valley 2309 Main Street Cedar Falls, IA 319-266-2100 www.pawshaspetsalon.com

need to know

Craig’s Vac Shop Sales & Service

Ages 6 Weeks-School Age Check us out on Facebook!

202 Byron Avenue Waterloo, IA 50702 319-287-6094

Highly Automated - Quality Food Processing & Packaging 2701 Midport Blvd.

Waterloo, IA 50703 319-291-3000 www.Conagrabrands.com

Modular Homes New/Used Manufactured Homes Design/Build Industrial Dennis Payne Commercial | Residential 5746 Westminster Dr. 3766 W Airline Hwy. 1705 Waterloo Rd. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Waterloo, 50703 Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-9000 319-277-0100 319-234-8610 www.mageeconstruction.com www.coachlighthomes.com wilsonrestaurantsupply.com

40 YEARS

Pawsha’s Pet Salon & Boarding

Where to go

26 YEARS

Advanced Heat Treat Corp. D&W Floor Covering

7 YEARS

Building Bright Beginnings

319-232-5228 2509 Valley Park Dr. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 www.chapmanelectricinc.com 319-266-1437 or 319-231-0765

Self Storage 920 Brookside Ave. Evansdale, IA 50707 319-231-6795

Henninger Electric

20 YEARS

Integration | Microprocessor Based Your Safety is Our Obligation Control Systems | Circuit Board Design | Mechanical Engineering & 201 East Seerley Blvd.

Design | Controller Manufacturing Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-266-9900 Cedar Falls, IA 50613 www.deerycollision.com 319-290-3910 • www.cetekinc.com

35 YEARS

PIPAC Health and Life Insurance Brokerage

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24 YEARS

and

SELLERS Place your ad now!

Get the word out quickly and effectively with our unmatched local reach online, and in print.

Whether you’re selling a car, a home, having a garage sale, or looking for the perfect employee, we’ve got a solution that meets your needs. Just fill out the form to get started.  Farm & Ranch  Free Ads  Garage & Estate Sales  Jobs  Merchandise  Pets  Real Estate & Rentals  Services  Vehicles wcfcourier.com/ads/

K6 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

PERSEVERANCE

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PERSEVERANCE

Sunday, February 28, 2021 | K7

To

Paul DelagarDelle, gIlBerTVIlle The winner of our Logo Contest and the recipient of a year’s subscription to the Waterloo Courier.

The following businesses participated in our contest in December. How many were you able to identify?

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K8 | Sunday, February 28, 2021

PERSEVERANCE

Worship with these Cedar Valley Churches Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Central Christian Church 3475 Kimball Avenue, Waterloo 319-234-6231

Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

ImmANUEL LUTHERAN 4820 Oster Parkway Cedar Falls, IA

Church: 319-260-2000 Preschool: 319-260-2005 www.ilcv.org Sunday Worship: 8:00 am* and 11:00 am Senior Pastor: Rev. Dr. Gerald Kapanka Adult Bible Study: 9:30 am *Also livestreamed on Facebook

faithsr11.org

(319) 266-3541 www.bethlehemcf.org In person worship at 10:00 a.m. Sunday mornings or join us on our YouTube channel: BethlehemCF. Pastor Amy Eisenmann

Sunday Services:

7 p.m. In-Person, 2/24, 3/3, 10, 17 & 24

Worship Services Sept. - May: 8:30 & 11:00 a.m.

June - August: 8:30, 10:30 a.m. & Wed. Evening 6:30 p.m.

Rev. Michael Badenhop, Pastor

ELCA

301 1st Street NW Waverly, IA 50677 319.352.3850 www.stpaulswaverly.org We offer three livestreamed service options Thursdays at 8:35 a.m. is School Worship: Sundays at 9 a.m. is Traditional Worship

10:00 a.m. In Person and

Sundays at 11 a.m. is Modern Worship

Live Stream

You can view these livestreamed services at

Associate Pastor With Christ as our cornerstone we Believe, Become, Belong, Build

In-Person Sunday Worship

SR-You Tube Wed. Lenten Worship:

4000 Hudson Road

Rev. Dan Voigt

1stpresby.org

on Faith Lutheran

Cedar Falls, IA 50613

319-234-5501 wpcw.org

Rev. Amy Wiles, pastor

In-Person & Online on Facebook or after 10 a.m.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

1301 Kimball Ave., Waterloo

319-233-6145

Sunday Services, 9 a.m.

Lutheran (ELCA)

Church

505 Franklin St., Waterloo

Shell Rock, IA 50670

worship through WeWe worship on Sunday mornings online services on at 9:30am Sunday mornings at Wiggly Worship for preschool and 9:30 am. During the early elementary ages Pandemic. hospitality following.

There arehour also zoom Faith Formation activities meetings for youth and at Group evening 5:45-7.

5:30Wednesday pm, if you would likethrough to be high invited please birth School Group contact the pad church.

F.r.o.G,

Presbyterian

First Presbyterian Church

422 N. Prairie St. 319-885-4547

Westminster

Presbyterian (USA)

Faith Lutheran Church

www.centralchristianwaterloo.org

Presbyterian Church PCUSA

Join us Sundays at 9 & 10:30 AM

Lutheran

www.stpaulswaverly.org/live Special Programs and Events: We do not have in-person worship available yet but our services are livestreamed and can be viewed at www.stpaulswaverly.org/live.

We also offer weekly online content to help you grow in your faith (www.stpaulswaverly.org/live).

Presbyterian (PCUSA)

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 902 Main St., Cedar Falls

Masks Required

277-3930 Web: firstprescf.org office@firstprescf.org

You may also worship with

Join us for worship, study and events for children online.

us on line at our website or

Online only worship services each Sunday at 10 a.m.

Join us on facebook.com/ cedarheightspres

Facebook.

www.cedarheightspres.org

10:00 a.m.

United Methodist

Kimball Avenue United Methodist Church 1207 Kimball Avenue, Waterloo, IA 319-232-4103 www.kimballaveumc.com Sunday Worship 9:30 a.m.

In person worship by reservation and Living Streaming on Facebook https://kimballaveumc.

Rev. Joel R. Higgins

Roman Catholic

Waterloo Catholic Parishes Blessed Sacrament Queen of Peace Sacred Heart St. Edward Information • Worship Schedules • Parish Links www.waterloocatholics.org 00 1