Iowa Highway Ends (etc.)

July 9, 2024: A poster promoting the appearance of Robert Yeltman at the Ripley United Church of Christ parsonage was near the entrance to North Tama Veterinary Clinic.

I was back home last week for the district semifinal baseball game — North Tama lost to Maquoketa Valley — and I took a walk beforehand. Along the way I saw a name from my past, one I hadn’t thought of in a long time.

Robert Yeltman, a 2000 North Tama graduate, has a music career. His website says he “is a passionate singer and guitarist who is well known for his crowd-work and melodic voice with a lifetime of performance experience.”

Ripley United Church of Christ in Traer has started hosting musical events at its parsonage next door to the church. It’s a house that will be having “open mic nights.” According to a recent piece in the North Tama Telegraph, “each month of this series will also bring a regional talent … to offer both inspiration and a taste of what a great songwriter can feel like in a real ‘listening room’ environment.”

Bobby’s Grocery and BBQ in Dysart, formerly Terry’s Food Center, could close soon without a rapid infusion of cash. Stories: North Tama Telegraph, KWWL, KCRG. KCRG is wrong on one detail: The nearest grocery store is in Traer (9 miles), not Vinton (16 miles), and that one can use shoppers too. Bobby’s has set up a GoFundMe.

It’s hard to keep a tiny grocery store in business; profit margins are notoriously low. But as the news stories show, the Dysart store has been battered by storms both literal and metaphorical.

The store has lost power repeatedly, including in the past month, that caused it to lose all perishable stock, the Telegraph story says. In addition, there has been significant (and very much not transitory) inflation. But the most obvious culprit is right there on Highway 21: Dollar General.

In 2022, Iowa Starting Line reported on the negative effects of Dollar General moving into towns that only had one family-run grocery. Part of the story focused on Trunck’s Country Foods, which had been running the Dysart grocery in addition to its base in Reinbeck, and how its owner pulled out of Dysart. The store would have closed if not for the Torres couple buying it, and they’re the ones asking for support now.

Dollar General doesn’t carry meat or fresh produce while Bobby’s and many other family-run grocery stores do.

At last check, Traer is the 14th-largest town in Iowa that does not have a dollar store or one in a bordering city. If Bobby’s goes under, that will be a giant warning light.