Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Local Shopping
To what do you attribute the amazing lack of businesses in Jefferson? It seems that there is virtually no competition - just one of each kind of store. 30 years ago this was certainly not the case, as there were four hardware stores, five grocery stores, and multiple clothing and furniture stores. All this, yet the population remains roughly the same?
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9 comments:
Primarily the reason is the age of the population. Older people do not need more furniture, clothing and "stuff". Also, Look at the percentage of school children receiving free or reduced-priced meals and compute the family incomes.
Starting probably when the Crossroads Mall in Ft Dodge or Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines opened, too many people spending their cash elsewhere.
Everybody here at JIN understands that the population of Iowa has grown older. However, we will be releasing stats that prove that other communities in Iowa have not undergone this complete reduction of services. This will be published shortly.
These statistics show that Jefferson occupies a unique position in that although its population does not decrease, the services it provides continue to spiral downward.
It will take more than a superficial comment to explain this phenomena. You simply can't close down three or four schools, open up one, and claim that the population is still level.
Likewise, you can't close nearly all of your retail outlets, including grocery stores, and state that your population has simply grown older when other Iowa communities of that size continue to offer a much wider range of retail sources.
We want to know why Jefferson can offer virtually no retail competition of any kind and not suffer any population consequences.
I'll go one step farther. Anybody that can offer up a reasonable explanation for this will receive a free Jefferson Iowa News t-shirt.
Rick- If you read through older posts you will see that you have answered your own question. The Jefferson population doesn't go anywhere other than downtown, driving in endless circles trying to find Lux's Tap. Send me my shirt.
Hey, I know I'm beating a dead horse, and I apologize. I can't help myself. But if those guys are still looking for Lux's, I hope they find it. I'm not sure if that reason alone explains everything, though, so I'm holding off on the t-shirt - for now.
The answer is or was top secret. It has recently been released through the Jefferson Freedom of Information Act of 2008. On January 9th , 1969 an secret meeting was held in the back of the Cigar Store. The purpose of this meeting was to restrict free trade within the community. In attendence of this meeting were the ringleaders Sparky and Doc. Also their accomplices Don Goodrich, Bill Shoppe, Hap Springer, Sandy Kendell, and Mike Wiltz were in attendence. Fearing competition and the potential loss of renue at their establishments a devious plan was set in motion. By a unanimous vote it was decided to enlist the aid of the Fearsome Four. The Attorney General was contacted and the plan was set in motion. Three weeks later at 6:00am a plane landed at the local airport and from it emerged the most feared members of the Governor's Suppression of Free Trade Taskforce. The leader of the group Bob Randleman was nationally recognized as radical political subversive, his job was to constantly harrass state and local political leaders in order to eliminate any possibility of funding for business expansion. The two thugs sent to terrorize the community were imported from the KGB, their exploits were well documented but their real names have never been revealed, we knew them as Christmas and Easter. The forth member of the task force was actually percieved by the community as not one but rather two individuals. Her professional code name was Look Left Look Right. You may have thought you were seeing a set of twins known as the Sayer sisters. Their job was to wander the square and report back directly to the Governor. As you can see their mission was a complete success and eventually they were all compesated by generous monetary rewards for their diligent efforts to eliminate free trade in Jefferson, Ia. All the members of this task force disappeared under mysterious circumstances. It's hard to believe this all resulted from a meeting in the back of the Cigar Store years ago by a group of paranoid business owners and that the effects would be so long lasting. Now you know "the rest of the story".
If that doesn't get me a tee shirt nothing will.
I may have been playing the pinball machine at the time.
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