Des Moines Register
12-26-07
A can't-miss exit emerges in race: Grundy Center
By MIKE KILEN • REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Grundy Center, Ia. - Grundy Center was named in the mid-1800s for a late
Tennessee politician, Felix Grundy, who had never set foot in the town or
anywhere near Grundy County.
Today's politicians are much more accessible. Presidential aspirants have
trampled the ground of this small community this year, and all they ask for is a
vote.
Grundy Center has been host to 13 candidate appearances in the past year - the
most per capita of any town in Iowa leading up to the Jan. 3 caucuses - not
including two other events within a few miles of the city limits.
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Residents of this town of 2,531 can't remember a heavier pre-Iowa caucus
bombardment.
They aren't alone. From tiny Lucas to Lawton, from Exira to Earlham, the parade
of politicians to rural Iowa is as intense as ever. The Los Angeles Times was
astounded to learn recently that three candidates were staying in the same hotel
in 30,000-population Mason City, where 26 candidate events have occurred. A
big-city California resident might never come near a candidate.
A candidate standing on a hay bale somewhere in the rural Iowa outposts is
firmly a part of caucus campaign lore, but Jim McCormick contends that there is
more small-town emphasis this year.
"There has been a chorus on how important retail politics are in Iowa. A lot of
them have taken up the mantra that they are going to all 99 counties," said
McCormick, chairman of the political science department at Iowa State
University.
John Edwards recently bragged that he has visited all 99 counties - twice.
Add the fact that numerous candidates from both parties are vying for attention,
without a favorite son or incumbent to litter the field, and a resident of Grundy
Center can hardly escape meeting a politician.
"I can remember when they let out school because the governor of Iowa was
coming to town," said Randy Thoren, 57, a barber in Grundy Center. "This should
be a big deal, but after a while it's not."
Other reasons candidates come to town so frequently are Grundy Center's
location - between the larger towns of Waterloo and Marshalltown - and the pleas
of county party workers.
"We've really been blessed," said Gary Nibbelink, chairman of the county
Republican Party. "There is really a lot to be said for looking a candidate right
square in the eye to see if you're getting the Kentucky two-step or a straight
answer."
This is solidly Republican country, with registered Republicans outnumbering
registered Democrats 4 to 1. George Bush won handily the last two elections, as
did his father in 1992 and 1988.
So it's no surprise that eight of the 13 Grundy Center appearances have been by
Republican candidates, including front-runners Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee,
although Democrat Barack Obama's speech in November attracted nearly 300
people.
But no one is saying the appearances are a boon for the local economy. Grundy
Center is already relatively healthy for small-town Iowa, with a hospital that
employs 130 people, a salad dressing manufacturing plant that employs 122 and
a main street with nearly a dozen speciality shops. Candidates are here and
gone fairly quickly.
"And they usually bring their own food," said Kelly Riskedahl, tourism coordinator
for Grundy County Development Alliance. "Huckabee brought his own. Honestly,
I went for the food."
The crowds have gathered by the dozens, or even hundreds, for events on the
courthouse lawn, community center or school.
Residents have mixed theories about the unprecedented amount of attention.
Some say a highly interested electorate is attractive. Typically, 75 percent of
county residents vote in general elections, and about 25 percent show up to
caucus.
"I once did one of those get-out-the-vote efforts and there were only five people
on the list," said Peggy Huismann.
Marcia Roll said the attention is for another reason: "Money. We have a lot of
money in this county from farming. The soil here is the richest in the world."
The candidates like rural Iowa, said ISU professor McCormick, because it helps
to organize people and allows for picturesque media coverage.
The campaign allowed Adam Harringa of the Grundy Register to snap photos in
the grass near the courthouse and fire questions at potential presidents in July only a few months past college graduation.
"It's a great opportunity," said the Wartburg College graduate. "Iowa really is a
special place."
Grundy Center may be more special because of the large number of voters
registered with no party - nearly 40 percent -and a fair share of "disaffected
Republican voters," said Clarissa Nicholson, the county's Democratic Party
chairwoman. One appearance can make a big difference.
Shelly Westerman said she voted for Bush but is making a switch to the
Democrats after hearing Obama.
"He seems real genuine and sincere. He's a very gentle person," she said. "I've
got a friend who saw him and is doing the same thing."
Steve Hinderhofer, 25, a high school teacher, said he is a blue-state New Yorker
who recently moved to Iowa and likes Edwards' ideas but would go with
Huckabee if the caucuses were held today. "He's a great speaker. I actually got
to eat lunch with him and talk to him. I like his energy," Hinderhofer said. "In New
York, you don't get to see a guy up close and personal like that."
Residents here say that immigration, national security and health care are their
main issues and that rarely were questions posed to the candidates about
ethanol or farm policy.
Slug Kosterboer, 81, looked up over his newspaper at the barbershop and simply
said he was "fed up." The war and the economy had him down, and he was now
willing to listen to a Democrat.
That a guy in small-town Iowa named Slug, a fourth-grade nickname that stuck,
can analyze these politicians firsthand is a benefit that people here neither take
for granted nor approach with naivete.
They know politicians' egos from way back. It turns out, the town wasn't named
as much for Felix Grundy as by him. He was enlisted to help name Iowa
counties. He chose his own.
Reporter Mike Kilen can be reached at (515) 284-8361 or mkilen@dmreg.com