Home Care In Swisher, IA

This Halloween-inspired candle concert looks like something you would only see in a Disney movie and the best part, it's coming to eastern Iowa. "Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics" will be performed at The Midnight Gem in Swisher, Iowa.

Tell me this doesn't look absolutely stunning! Or...kind of creepy.

Candlelight Concert Details

On October 26th, Candlelight's String Quartet will be performing an evening of some of your favorite classic Halloween songs. Viewers can expect songs like Thriller, the Stranger Things Theme, Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, Halloween Theme, etc.

Now that we're 1/3rd of the way through October, I have completely switched into my Halloween mode. I got married on September 30th, which I think fairly took up a lot of my brain power. After watching some of these Candlight Halloween concerts on YouTube, my brain has officially switched to celebrating Halloween.

If you're a fan of Halloween, live music, or simply want to do something you've maybe never done before, this Candlight Halloween concert is a fantastic idea. Tickets can be purchased here and you can expect the music to last for about 65 minutes. The doors will open 45 prior to the start time and make sure you are not late, as late entry is not permitted.

It's also a Visual Experience!

Not only will you be able to enjoy these classic Halloween songs by the String Quartet, you also will enjoy an incredible visual experience. Imagine taking in your favorite Halloween songs under the incredible glow of candlelight. If the videos shown above are close to the experience you'll see/hear at the Midnight Gem, in Swisher, Iowa, I'd be willing to bet you have a pretty fantastic experience.

The only thing that makes me nervous about this is...what if one of the performers trips or falls? Talk about a big whoops!

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A similar measure failed nearly two decades ago

Izabela Zaluska

SWISHER — Swisher voters rejected development of a public water system during a special election Tuesday.

The public measure, which needed 50 percent of votes to pass, failed with 401 voters — or 84.2 percent — voting “no.” A total of 75 voters — or 15.8 percent — voted “yes.”

A total of 476 residents voted in the special election for 72.34 percent turnout, according to unofficial results.

The conversation to put this measure on the ballot was in light of anticipated growth, a desire to improve fire response, and concerns about contaminated water. The Jefferson-Monroe Fire Department is the only fire department in Johnson County without a public water system.

The city had a previous special election to develop a municipal water system in February 1999. The measure failed with 72 percent of voters voting “no,” and 28 percent voting “yes.” A total of 395 residents voted, according to Johnson County archives.

Only residents residing within Swisher city limits were eligible to vote in this election. Residents with a Swisher address who live outside of city limits were not part of the vote.

Most Swisher city residents are served by private wells, but the city does have some public water systems. There are seven public water systems and about 95 private wells.

In 2019, there was a renewed interest to explore the possibility of a municipal water system, and a water feasibility committee was formed.

Cedar Rapids-based HR Green was hired to evaluate alternatives for water supply, treatment, storage and distribution, as well as conduct a water system study. The firm explored what infrastructure would be needed to move forward with a public water system if approved by voters.

HR Green hosted public information meetings about the $19.2 million project. Residents raised concerns at these meetings about the project costs, user rates and other uncertainties.

Swisher resident Chad Velvick said Wednesday one of the main reasons he was against the measure was the cost. He said other residents were also worried about the unknown monthly expenses.

Velvick created the Swisher City Water Forum page on Facebook in early February as a way for residents to communicate ahead of the vote and engage with one another about what they’ve heard and their questions. The group had just under 240 members ahead of the special election.

“If the message of the proposal had stayed consistent, it would have been a little bit easier to maybe discuss that part, but it moved a little bit, so people really didn't know what they were going to end up paying,” Velvick said.

Velvick also mentioned another factor residents were uncomfortable with was the amount of time to digest the information. It was about seven weeks from the first city mailer to the special election.

“The cost and the speed was just very worrisome,” Velvick said.

Swisher Mayor Chris Taylor previously told The Gazette that the questions and concerns brought up during the water discussion — such as improving fire response and addressing contaminated water — will still need solutions if the vote fails.

Taylor said on Wednesday the results showed that for some of the issues, like contaminated water, residents would prefer to address them as individuals rather than collectively as a city.

“I think the city will need to look at those problems with that in mind,” Taylor said.

Taylor added the city council will need to look at lessons learned, resident concerns and the research that has been done over the last three years as they discuss next steps.

“One thing that we can do now to help put the city in stronger position if this does come up down the line is to keep a record of what happened this time around,” Taylor said, adding the city didn’t have much information from the 1999 vote.

By keeping an archive of information, Taylor said his hope is that it will be helpful for future city leaders to see what residents were concerned about and the questions that came up. The city will need to wait at least four years before the issue can be put on the ballot again.

“That will enable those future leaders of the city to be better prepared to address some of the questions that are bound to come up every time this comes to a vote,” Taylor said.

“Regardless of the outcome, I absolutely think it was time to once again put it to voters and just see what they wanted to do next,” Taylor added.

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To some, when it comes to Corridor cities, the term 'business growth” can evoke developments in larger communities, such as North Liberty and Coralville.

Tiffin recently has become accustomed to the spotlight, following a recorded 72.6 percent population boom between 2010 and 2017.

Where does that leave the small-town economies in the comparatively diminutive Shueyville and Swisher?

The two cities, with respective populations estimated around 667 and 974 residents, aren't seeing large retail chains opening locations - and those communities aren't necessarily going out of their way to court them, either.

But in both cities - more or less fronting opposite sides of Interstate 380 in northern Johnson County - a blend of residents and out-of-town visitors have helped small businesses both new and old flourish.

Growing up in Shueyville, Lauren Chalupsky-Cannon used to ride her bike down the hill where she currently owns the Secret Cellar, which offers a variety of wines, spirits, cheeses and related classes.

'Who would've thought 40 years later I'd be selling booze in the old white farmhouse?” she wondered, adding, 'I think that's part of why this worked so well, that I do have a great connection in the community and I love the people. ...

A lot of them are my family and we support each other.”

Opening the Secret Cellar in 2004 was a 'total burst of inspiration” for Chalupsky-Cannon, who had seen a 'for rent” sign driving past the building. Though she said it took years for people to realize the cellar was there - befitting its 'secret” name - more recently there has been an uptick in customers, including business travelers and commuters.

'They always comment, ‘Oh, this is so cute, you'd never expect you'd have all this inside a two-story farmhouse,' and about just how unique the experience is, that this definitely isn't a ‘shopping at a big-box store' experience,” Chalupsky-Cannon said.

‘We have to be extra good'

Maddi B's pizza and ice cream eatery in Shueyville enjoys consistent support from local customers, too, living not just in the city but in nearby Swisher, Ely and Solon, co-owner Shawn Rife said.

The venue prides itself on providing first jobs for a number of area high schoolers, which in turn results in more traffic, she said.

'Families come here because their kids are here and want to support not only them working but a business that's hiring them,” Rife said.

Support among local businesses also is key in continuing to drive customer traffic, said Sonya LaGrange, who opened Swisher's Black Squirrel Tap and Vault Boutique in 2016.

'All of the businesses here in town do a pretty good job of promoting each other,” she said. 'If people come into the boutique, we try to tell them to go over to Kava or the bar to grab something to eat.”

Kava House and Cafe opened 'fairly quietly” in Swisher nearly 11 years ago, said co-owner Karen Vondracek, but as it grew, the coffee shop and eatery added menu items, extended its hours and began opening for special events, like graduations or parties, on Sundays.

'I really feel like every year in some way is a milestone,” Vondracek said, of operating a restaurant in a small town. 'It's not like we're in downtown Iowa City or another town where there's a lot of foot traffic. ...

We have to be extra good at what we do to get people to drive here.”

GROWING PAINS

Whether Shueyville and Swisher's small-town status equates to limited room for business growth is a question mark.

Shueyville officials currently aren't actively recruiting new businesses, said Mayor Mickey Coonfare, who added that she does not know where the city could accommodate them.

'Some towns are trying to fill vacant buildings and we don't really have that. ...

We really don't have an area that you could put businesses in,” Coonfare said.

'We have a lot of residential (property) and so you would have to be taking residential away to put businesses in.”

Out of 100 Shueyville residents who answered a 2015 community survey, 68 said that the amount of commercial land in town should be increased as a means for expanding the tax base and providing services, while 32 said it should not.

Among the first group, a grocery store, small-scale shops and a restaurant were the top three desired business types.

”We would love to see some more amenities and keep business local instead of always having to drive into C.R. or I.C.!” one respondent wrote.

'I do not think that we need to rezone existing farm ground just so it can be sold. 70+ acres of commercial is way more than we need,” suggested another.

Even without big business expansions, Coonfare said Shueyville still is 'growing like crazy.” She pointed to what she estimated were three to six new homes built each year.

The families moving in do so because they want a 'rural atmosphere,” she added, and many - who commute to larger cities for work - take advantage of certain amenities, such as a grocery store, elsewhere.

'Years and years and years ago, we did have a little grocery store in town and it couldn't compete,” Coonfare said. 'You weren't going to shop there because it's like going to the gas station and getting bread: You do it when you have to have it right now, but it's higher (priced) than it is at the grocery store.”

Getting the word out

Swisher followed through on one aspect of its 2015 comprehensive plan and allocated $30,000 for a revolving loan fund for entrepreneurs. But so far, no one has inquired about the loans, said Robyn Jacobson, contracts administrator with the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, which would administer the funds.

Through Swisher's fund, small businesses could receive loans ranging from $2,500 to $10,000, with a 4 percent interest rate over a time frame up to five years, for use in buying machinery, equipment, property or making tenant improvements.

Jacobson chalked up the apparent lack of interest in Swisher's fund, and a general one her organization offers up to $500,000, to limited knowledge they exist.

'It's just a matter of getting that information out and having people understand that there are resources available for them,” she said.

On the other hand, Chalupsky-Cannon said she believes Shueyville has potential for business growth but 'the reins are tight” on account of what she believes could be a conservative mind-set among city officials.

Chalupsky-Cannon said she began holding her now-bustling Friday farmers market in the Secret Cellar's front yard after council members did not approve her request to hold the events in the Shueyville Community Center.

'I understand there are people that have lived here ...

their whole lives, and so to be mindful and respectful of them,” she said. She added that, without new business, the city eventually could dwindle.

'We're going to get swallowed up by Cedar Rapids and not make any decisions of our own,” Chalupsky-Cannon said.

In Swisher, the zoning for some commercial buildings is grandfathered in, rather than permitted under current code, said Rebekah Neuendorf, co-owner of DanceMor Ballroom and a city council member.

As a result, she said, the businesses might not be able to carry out desired expansion plans because they'd then have to bring their buildings into compliance with modern code in ways Swisher might struggle to support.

For example, because the city does not supply water service, the installation of new sprinkler systems might put a strain on the shared wells used, Neuendorf said.

'I have no doubt that some things like that are why DanceMor sat vacant for four years,” she said. 'It's challenging to think and work around some of those things that are just kind of there right now in Swisher.”

LaGrange, of Black Squirrel Tap, is part of a group of around seven Swisher small business owners who hold monthly meetings and discuss their ideas for the community.

One possibility could involve seeing whether the owners of seemingly inactive properties would be interested in selling to an investor for development, she said.

'We're always trying to come up with things that'll pull people in and get the word out,” LaGrange said. 'If you don't, small towns kind of tend to dry up and there's nothing to do, and people head to the bigger cities for fun stuff when, a lot of the time, small towns are the funnest places to be.”

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Kellie Lincoln of Swisher, Iowa, loves the outdoors and looks forward to every opportunity to play with her young grandchildren. But as her left knee began to deteriorate from arthritis, she felt her active life grinding to a halt.

Hoping to avoid surgery, Kellie turned to University of Iowa Health Care sports medicine specialist Ryan Kruse, MD, to find out if he had other options to help her get moving again.

Kruse performed a microfragmented adipose tissue (MFAT) treatment, a leading-edge, nonsurgical procedure that used Kellie’s own fat cells to help heal and cushion her damaged knee.

Today, Kellie kayaks and hikes, chases around her four grandchildren, and does all the other things that make her happy.

“It’s made a big difference,” says Kellie, 60. “I don’t feel limited anymore. And I feel like my knee is still improving.”

A new option for patients who’ve tried cortisone and don’t want knee replacement

Kellie’s ailing knee kept her away from the physical activities that give her so much joy. It also slowed her down in her job as a registered nurse at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

“It was hard to walk at times,” she says. “After a 12-hour shift, I’d get a lot of stiffness, and I also had pain from time to time.”

Cortisone injections provided little to no relief. And she didn’t want a knee replacement, mainly because of the weeks of work she’d miss while recuperating.

Kruse listened to Kellie’s goals so that he could recommend a treatment that would work for her lifestyle. He believed MFAT would be the best option.

“He made me feel at ease, and he was very informative about it,” Kellie says. “He told me about other procedures, too, but we just figured this would be the best one for me. He had a good energy.”

Nonsurgical knee repair that uses the patient’s own fat cells

Kruse specializes in regenerative medicine, an increasingly popular category of orthopedic care that can help damaged tissue heal and can provide long-term pain relief without surgery. Most types of regenerative medicine use the patient’s own cells to do the work.

“I’ve always been someone who will try something new,” Kellie says. “Why not try this instead of something like a knee replacement, where’s it’s more invasive and there’s a risk for blood clots and all that stuff? I really didn’t have any doubts.”

In January 2021, Kruse took fat cells from the sides of Kellie’s abdomen and then used a processing technique to resize and reshape the fat cells so that they could fit through a needle. He then injected her processed fat cells into her knee.

The whole procedure took about two hours during a normal office visit. Kellie was awake the whole time.

“I didn’t feel anything,” she says.

Kruse told Kellie that if she did her part—including physical therapy and a series of follow-up appointments—the benefits of the MFAT treatment could last for years.

I’ve always been someone who will try something new. Why not try this instead of something like a knee replacement, where’s it’s more invasive and there’s a risk for blood clots and all that stuff? I really didn’t have any doubts.

— Kellie Lincoln

Back to an active life within three months of knee treatment

Kellie’s knee progressed nicely. Within three months, the mobility of her knee had improved significantly. Even her co-workers noticed the difference her MFAT treatment made.

“I have people at work who have asked for Dr. Kruse’s name,” she says. “I definitely would recommend it.”

Best of all, she’s keeping pace with her grandchildren again.

“One of the main reasons I had the injection was to keep up with my very active grandkids,” Kellie says. “We go a lot of places, and I have to keep up. The injection has helped me enjoy watching them grow.”

Request an appointment with one of our sports medicine specialists for regenerative medicine.

You can’t help but wish Nick and Rebekah Neuendorf well.

This young couple is putting sweat equity and modern marketing skill into reviving the 90-year-old DanceMor ballroom in Swisher, the last of its kind to survive in this area.

Almost one year into the project, it’s so far so good.

The Neuendorfs reopened DanceMor last fall with Friday and Saturday night dances each weekend — a mix of country/western bands and vintage rock bands, mostly from around the region. Wednesday nights became popular for country line dancing with a DJ.

This fall, they’ve tweaked things a bit. They’ll still have a prominent live band on Saturday nights for adults, but will turn Friday nights over to teens. They say they are working to learn what audiences want.

“We want to provide an open, safe and fun place for kids to be on Friday nights,” says Rebekah. “They can get out of the house, play some games, have some snacks, maybe dance, maybe jam on our stage. We’ve got pool and darts and might put up a video gaming system.”

And country line dancing, she says, is as popular as ever, so the Wednesday night sessions are still on.

“When we took over, we were floored that line dancing is still such a big thing,” she tells me.

“I grew up line dancing at the Electric Park Ballroom in Waterloo,” she continued. “Both my young daughters are doing it and I love to see the older ladies draw them into the dancing. People from Dubuque to the Quad Cities drive here to dance. Sometimes we get nearly 100 people.”

The Neuendorfs are Iowa natives who were working as college financial aid advisers in Chicago when they decided to return to their home state and selected Swisher as their residence in 2012.

“We could hear the music from the deck of our house,” said Rebekah. “We could hear the bass bumping. So, we decided to check it out.”

They were impressed by the acoustics and the nostalgic atmosphere they found at DanceMor. Then the ballroom closed in 2014 with no buyer in sight. Four years later, the couple took the plunge into ownership, spent six months getting things ready and then opened for their first event.

They said the ancient, wood-framed building is basically in decent structural shape.

Nick spent nearly two months covering the insulation at the top of the peaked ceiling with black, sound-deadening fabric. They stripped the beams and removed large hanging decorative discs to give patrons a better view of the maze of old-style, crisscrossed beams supporting the roof.

“This old floor’s got a lot of character,” Nick adds, pointing to the hard maple wood installed when the place opened in 1929 as the Swisher Paramount Pavilion. The dance venue was originally open to the sky with only a picket fence surrounding it. Dancers sometimes came by horse and buggy or the train, which unloaded passengers just a few steps from the front entrance.

A roof — but no side walls —was added in 1932 and the venue was renamed the Swisher Pavilion. When removing decorations last year, Nick was excited to uncover a date apparently scrawled by a workman of the era which said “April 15, 1932.” The building was enclosed later, and expanded with an addition.

“Admission was 25 cents when it first opened,” says Nick. “Then it dropped to 10 cents and then five cents during the Great Depression, then it was whatever you could afford.”

The couple also found an old custom-built shoe rack in the building.

“People would check the shoes they wore here and take a number,” says Rebekah, “then change into their dancing shoes.”

The stage is the same as it was 90 years ago, as are most of the booths surrounding the dance floor. The old wooden beams above echo with the spirit of an earlier generation. They danced to the live music of Lawrence Welk, Conway Twitty and other big name performers back in the day.

“So many people have come up to us and said things like, ‘I met my husband for the first time here at booth No. 11 and we had our first cocktail,’” said Rebekah.

The DanceMor has never been open in summer, say the owners, because old ballrooms without air conditioning do not fare well in the hot months.

“The previous owner, Craig Davis, used to put a sign on the door that said: ‘Gone fishing. See you in the fall’,” she said.

However, the current owners host a summer yoga class each Wednesday morning before the sun heats things up in the ballroom.

“It’s not new and it’s not fancy,” Rebekah concluded. “It’s about the nostalgia. You stop and take a long look around you out there on the dance floor. You go back in time.”

Nick estimates there were nearly 100 thriving ballrooms in Iowa at one time, but it’s said only about 20 survive today. The DanceMor was inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

The Neuendorfs want to preserve what originally helped put Swisher on the map and promote their community as well. Rebekah is even a member of the town council.

“We’re only the third family to own this place in 90 years,” Nick said. The Frank Stangler family owned the original structure, then it was owned and operated most recently by the Harold Davis family.

“Who knows,” he added. “Maybe our family will run it for the next 40 years.”