by Mari Radtke
Megan Joines owner of In-Style Salon in Sutherland has had a beauty shop at the corner of Main and West Second Streets since 2003. After graduating from LeMars Beauty College she and her husband spent four years in Pella. They chose to return his hometown of Sutherland, not far from her hometown of Cherokee to begin a family.
Once settled, Megan took over the salon location once operated by Taunia Faust. The building was owned by Norm Hill.
Megan rented for awhile and eventually bought the property. The corner building was originally built as a bank and has served Sutherland proudly since the town’s beginning. The grand architecture highlights the history of the community. According to Joines she heard repeatedly as she was planning her project to “keep the brick.”
The exterior project was very needed. The mortar was long gone. The brick was leaky and weak. Something had to be done. Joines worked with her carpenter dad, Jeff Halverson, to come up with an affordable plan to save the brick and secure the aging building.
They worked with Hatch Masonry of Cherokee. Due to the cost of tuck pointing and the huge volume of that work that would be needed the cost was prohibitive – even with the help of family. So they found a really attractive compromise. On the worst parts of the brick, a stucco material was sprayed on. It took 3 layers of stucco to sufficiently fill the mortar gaps! Some of the brick was tuck pointed and painted. New stairs with a handrail were poured and a new front door was installed. The trim got painted. So did really interesting building details.
It was not an inexpensive project. Sutherland’s “Storefront Improvement” program, administered by its Economic Development committee assisted with this project. The program will match 75% up to $2000.00 of an exterior project. The program is a forgivable loan operating in Sutherland and the business must be open more than 20 hours per week. Repayment terms are amortized over 10 months per thousand dollars borrowed at zero percent for forgivable and 5% for repayment. Repayment for any balance due goes into effect when a business closes or sells.
Only 3 loans are awarded each fiscal year and every approved project must be complete before the current fiscal year expires. Joines says the application process is very easy.
Information and an application form can be found online at www.sutherlandiowa.com/economic-development/.