Army Post Road

     It was something that was really written on the wall two years ago and then etched onto the wall this past spring when the purchase was completed:  Whirpool intends to close their Maytag facilities in Newton, IA.  The productivity and cost-effectiveness of the washer/dryer plant there had been slipping in comparison to sister factories around the country and the world and so the justification to keep alive the most expensive horse in the stable was gone.  This will be one of the first and greatest tests of the next governor of Iowa (hopefully Jim Nussle) as they try to keep as many of the 1,800 jobs being cut from Whirlpool/Maytag’s rolls in Newton.  It’s not a good situation because Newton is one of those company towns that over the past 100 years built itself around the assumption that Maytag would always employ the largest chunk of able-bodied adults in town.  I remember going to play at Maytag Park and touring one of the Maytag factories in Newton when I’d go and visit my cousins there. 
      Like I discussed earlier about the tornados in Iowa City,  I wrote about how communities rebound from tragedy and hey they can grow their economies despite destruction and devastation.  They’ve already got one of the campi of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) and Newton is only about 30-40 minutes from Des Moines so it’s got things in its favor to be resilient, now the proof will all be in the execution.