MASON CITY – Paul Adams has been re-elected to the Mason City council, defeating Max Weaver.
The vote was 2,507 for Adams to 913 for weaver (73% to 27%). There were 6 write-in votes.
Weaver and Adams ran different campaigns. Adams knocked neighborhood doors and worked within the local Democratic party while Weaver preferred small group settings to spread his sometimes controversial message. The candidates had stark views on the on-going Renaissance Project, with Weaver wanting to scale back and hold questionable characters accountable. Adams has always pledged to move forward full steam with downtown projects and other initiatives within the community.
Wednesday morning, Weaver said, “Hey Everyone, I want to congratulate Paul Adams and thank everyone that got out to vote. I especially want to thank all those that supported me, with their kind words and their vote.”
Adams was elected in a close election over Weaver and a host of other candidates back in 2016 after the death of councilman Alex Kuhn. He ultimately defeated Andy O’Brien in a run-off election that December.
Later Wednesday, Adams said, “I am humbled to have your support for another 4 years. Thank you to all the Mason City citizens that took the time to vote over the last few weeks. Also, I want to thank Max Weaver for running in this Election and for the countless years he has given to our City as a public servant and a private citizen. We are positioned to capitalize on the momentum we have built the last couple of years. I am excited to continue to help lead Mason City in the direction of growth and progress.”
IF people would get off their butts and get off the internet and quit watching TV they would find plenty to do in downtown Mason City and all of North Iowa.Live bands and comedy shows all free!
Five years from now, let’s examine the P&L of the new venue. Let’s look at the health of the 100+ bed hotel downtown. Let’s look at how many of those apartments will be leased.
Indeed, let’s look how much our Community has grown. My gut says it will continue to shrink as more businesses close up, and people follow the money.
I have said before, they put the cart before the horse. And it’s sad that so many people cannot see that none of this will work, until you get jobs that can SUSTAIN a household, brought into the community.
Until then, Clear Lake and others will prosper and grow.
The hotel is private investment, so you don’t get to see their financials. Same with the apartment building.
I do not know if you’ve noticed, but clear lake isn’t growing either. It’s lost population every year since 1970, just like mason city has.
It’s this culture of ‘no’ with the people of North Iowa that is the problem. No to prestage. No to target distribution. No casinos. No to brown folks.
Population wise, yes, all rural areas are declining, perhaps at a slower rate. That said, there are other ways to measure growth, such as income, real estate values, and jobs.
From the demographics I saw, they had growth in income and housing values, better than that of Mason City. Wait, Mason City did have growth..in the poverty rate.
One does not need an SEC filing or earnings report when observations and anecdotal information is enough to spot a flailing operation. For example, low car count on peak times, or below market floor rates could be easy indicators.
Drive by any apartment complex, look at how many cars are in the lots. You would have to be blind not to see that. And since that particular complex will have constricted parking availability, again, it does not take a genius to figure out.
Now, the Amateur hockey complex will have to make available it’s financials to the public. And since it only caters to a very small segment of the population, it will be quite expensive to cover the $12.5 million it took to build, not to mention the operating costs.
Now then, I have written time and again here that without sustainable jobs, this grandiose vision cannot happen. Period.
It is well established that young people gravitate towards areas with higher paying job availability, and a night life they have become accustomed to in college. Small towns like Mason City cannot compete in ANY of those areas, and it would take billions of dollars in investment to become such a destination.
In the words of our Mayor we cannot become an “up-and-coming, low-cost, high quality of life location for workers and families.”
Let me go further, in a conversation with a man from the East Coast (who stayed twice this year at the Park Inn), “outside of the bar downtown and the few architectural examples we have, there is NOTHING to do in Mason City”. I really must concur.
And again Mr. Mayor, we do not have a river downtown..it is Willow CREEK!
One other factor I keep harping on, looking like a successful community. It is NOT here. Friends and family who visit here comment about it’s “gritty appearance”.
Open your eyes and drive around. You WILL see that a lot of people spent time and effort to rake up leaves, and clean up for winter. But for every residence or business that keeps a good image, you will see too many that just don’t care how they look or appear.
The ONLY reason you will note the the downtown businesses looked close to decent this summer, is because some volunteers, NOT the shop keepers, put out planters and pulled weeds in Central Park (I did like the look of the park this year!)
Some property owners downtown did not give any consideration to how they looked. Imagine a vision of some sidewalk cafe, with weeds spouting out of ever crack in the sidewalk. Is that welcoming? Hardly!
And the people who are looking to invest in a community, will see this, and temper their impression of Mason City.
You can whitewash some Blue Ribbon committee, but in all honesty, you cannot buffalo people who’s job it is to seek out good places to live and grow. Those kinds of people do not wear blinders. You can wine and dine them at the Quarry or Park Inn. But once they leave that little square, they see the reality of the community.
And it is the community as a whole, starting with the City where it all begins. In one breath, they are champions an expensive project that would knowingly serve only a minority of people, then, tacitly support people in our community who strive to degrade it for personal gain.
paul didn’t say a word about spending more of your money in the next 4 yrs. wonder what pipe dream is coming up next
Next pipe dream?
How about the River Walk that will rival what they have in San Antonio? The Mayor proposed it last January.
How is that coming Mr. Mayor?
75% of voters supported Adams and the River City Renaissance. MANDATE!!!
Weaver had his pants pulled and was given an old fashioned ass whipping!
There are no shithole towns. Only shithole people. Thanks for outing yourself.
good lets waste more money in this shit hole town
Mason City, LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!