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MT PLEASANT — Continued growth, change and
development were hallmarks of Mt. Pleasant in 1993, a year which saw
several retail chains close their local stores, one re-opening later,
and massive change in a number of other economic development areas.
During one brief stretch of the summer, three long-time women’s apparel
stores closed, and a long-time retail outlet also closed. Spurgeon’s and
Seifert’s, tied to the same management group, closed their doors during
the year. Seifert’s, however, reopened in November under the same
management, but after the chain’s founder had put together a family
corporation to take over a series of the original stores.
Also closing were the Sear’s catalogue store, run for years by Ardie
Simms, who later founded and opened The Trading Post on the north side
of the square. Martha Brown’s Ltd. also closed in 1993, but the building
did not remain vacant for long, as APAC TeleServices has opened on the
east side of the square.
GTE announced it was changing its operations and closed the customer
service portion of its offices in Mt. Pleasant by the end of the year.
Heritage Cablevision continued operations under TCI of Eastern Iowa, and
in the fall, TCI’s total operations were the subject of a buyout
proposed by Bell-Atlantic.
As the year came to a close, the community took another blow to its
economy, as Pamida closed five of its stores in Iowa, including the Mt.
Pleasant store, after business Friday, Dec. 24.
Industrially, things continued at a busy pace. Alaniz & Sons opened its
new plant, consolidating several operations centers into a new building
on North Iris Road. Federal Express opened a new facility on East
Monroe, expanding its operations; and Mt. Pleasant Warehousing opened in
the old Alaniz building on East Monroe. Several storage buildings were
erected by a development group led by Rande McAllister, and the
Stow-n-Go business on the north side of Highway 34 east was expanded.
Decorating Plus closed along North Jefferson and Just For You, a women’s
apparel store, opened. Also opening were: Cox Chiropractic Clinic; Mt.
Pleasant Eye Clinic (which relocated into a renovated Happy Joe’s
building); Body Boutique, where Ashley’s and Satin Stitches had been
located; Heart Beats, a wellness/health consulting business operated by
Kathy Barney, opened in the professional building; Tai Cuisine in the
old Golden Dragon Restaurant site on North Main, Sater Blacksmith
operated by Todd Boldt relocated to the old Centre State building, and
the East Monroe site of the blacksmith was purchased by Taft-Wiley,
which is converting it into an expanded building and storage.
Rebound Sports opened in the Iris City Sports building; Jeans & Gems was
renamed Electric Beach, Yaley’s Service & Sales moved to a new location
on Winfield Avenue, and LBJ Antiques and The Dairy Stop opened along
Highway 34 west. Nuzum-Chittenden was renamed to East Side
Ford-Chrysler, and Christner Motors was formally closed. McWhirter’s GM
Jeep-Eagle Discount Center was expanded to include a complete line of GM
products. Bun’s & Co. closed after many years, and was remodeled and
reopened under the same ownership as The Feed Bin. Shear Delight moved
from next to the theatre to the old Lorber Insurance branch office site.
Life Investors opened at the old Domino’s site. Ray King moved his
business from the old Montgomery Ward’s building to North Main. Class
Act changed its name to Classic Design and is now under local ownership.
Also making their names known in the local area were: BC Vacuum Systems;
All American Turf Beauty, Inc; Henry County Surgical Care; and
Audio-Diagnostics.
The Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce reported 34 new memberships
during the year.
New construction continued during the year at a hectic pace, as the city
issued 38 sign permits, and by mid-December had issued 17 permits for
single-family residences (estimated total valuation added to the city’s
total, $1,588,515); two permits for duplexes ($260,000 valuation added);
18 permits for additions, repairs and remodeling ($100,100 value added);
14 demolition permits, one permit to move a garage (issued in July); and
18 permits for construction of garages ($121,262 value added).
In commercial areas, the city issued six permits for construction of new
stores ($1,303,241 value added); 25 permits for additions, repairs and
remodeling ($873,260 value added); and four demolition permits.
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