Profile Text: Anna Rottenborn Audio Highlight: Blake McMillan Photographs: Blake McMillan and Katie Lindgren
When Katie Lindgren looks back on her childhood in the 1980s and 1990s, she sees a nostalgia-tinged reflection of what Storm Lake once was. Raised a country kid, Lindgren still recalls the excitement she felt at being able to explore the town with friends. She reminisced, “We’d ride bikes up to Main Street, and we liked to go to Ben Franklin and dig into the candy…and we’d go to Bomgaars and get the gumball machines where you could buy a gumball for a penny.”
Today, the businesses which formed the pillars of the Storm Lake that Lindgren remembered have either moved or shut down. “Ben Franklin and ALCO,” she listed, “and we used to have a Pamida. We used to have a Sernett’s and those kinds of department stores. Yeah, [those] diminished, and have diminished in a lot of communities. Godfather’s is always my favorite. I was so sad when they ended Godfather’s here. That was such a disappointment!” Of course, this was not a trend unique to Storm Lake, or even just rural Iowa.
Today, Lindgren resides in nearby Newell with her husband and three sons, and commutes to work as a physical therapist in a very different Storm Lake. Change is all around. Nearby farms are growing larger in scale and fewer in number. In town, new businesses moving in are owned by, and cater to, an increasingly diverse populace. Her perspective and experiences as a white, Iowa native provide an insight into larger forces at play in Storm Lake and Buena Vista County.
They recognize that people speak different languages. We have different beliefs, different rituals…and just knowing that you don’t turn someone away…because of that…you treat them the same. And we respect people for that. Just recognizing that will prepare them better for when they get out in the big world.
A self-described homebody, Lindgren cherishes spending time with her family. Her three boys, ages 13, 11, and 5, benefit from living a rural life on the farm while having access to tremendous diversity in nearby Storm Lake. According to Lindgren, these experiences together will prepare her children for the future by exposing them to a cultural richness that accompanies diversity. She elaborated, “They recognize that people speak different languages. We have different beliefs, different rituals…and just knowing that you don’t turn someone away…because of that…you treat them the same. And we respect people for that. Just recognizing that will prepare them better for when they get out in the big world.”
“Now that I am in the area, I’m established,” she said. “Bringing my kids up in this and trying to expose them, you know…We’re going to church and exposing them to the church that I grew up in. For the first 9 years that my husband and I were married, we weren’t in my church. We were in a different church in a different community, and then we moved and got closer to the area, and so just being back in my church that I grew up in is…It’s almost kind of like that sense of awe.” Then again, she never strayed too far from her hometown. She attended Storm Lake High School and upon her graduation in 2000 went to Buena Vista University for college. She left town briefly to secure her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Des Moines University from 2004 to 2007, but described the time spent away from home as “nearly the death of me.” With the birth of her first child, she returned to Buena Vista County.
Bringing my kids up in this and trying to expose them, you know. We’re going to church and exposing them to the church that I grew up in…[J]ust being back in my church that I grew up in is…It’s almost kind of like that sense of awe.
Lindgren serves a wide array of clients at Sports Rehab & Physical Therapy Associates, ranging from weathered Tyson employees to overworked BVU athletes. She is also frequently tasked with reaching out to her community. “I’ve done talks at schools, I’ve done talks at BV and with the other training classes,” she recalled. “I’ve done even grade school at times. I’ve been asked to come in and just talk about my profession, and I think that keeps the tie” between the physician and the county’s residents.
As with many folks in the region, Lindgren has multiple connections to Tyson Fresh Meats. Several of her family members, including her father-in-law and her sister-in-law, are employed there. When asked about her thoughts on Tyson, Lindgren explained, “I would feel confident in saying that they have to be a fairly good employer. They stick around, you know what I mean, because they’ve been there for a lot of years, so I would think that if your employer is providing for you, you’re going to be more likely to stay and continue working for them.” Lindgren’s father-in-law hauls turkeys. Her sister-in-law is the coordinator of food safety.
Discussing the advantages of Storm Lake’s shifting demographics in the recent past, Lindgren noted, “The Hispanic population was definitely growing, and the Laotian population, or Asian I should say, or Latino and Asian would probably be more, more PC, I guess. Sorry.” This quick correction, common to many interview subjects searching for the right term, reveals a respectful desire for accuracy. It is a productive stumble familiar to Storm Lake residents (and to those studying its history). Finding the right words can be politicized at the national level, sure. Many Americans know this, can be timid of getting something wrong, and therefore steer clear of sensitive terminologies. By contrast, folks who live and work in Storm Lake need to–and want to–search for the right term. Lindgren’s attempt to find accurate phrasing is a reminder of the everyday work to build community.
[B]eing in a small community with different ethnicities and having that underneath me…If I would have been sheltered from that, I would probably be a different person. I think it breaks you out of your box a little bit and teaches you better communication.
As a nearby resident, Lindgren emphasized her enthusiasm for the multitude of different opportunities that Storm Lake offers. She believes that everybody has a different version of what is considered “ordinary,” which is what creates a unique and dynamic world. In order to bridge each individual version of the ordinary, and thus acceptable reality, Lindgren argued that communication is vital. “No matter where you’re at in life, and no matter what profession you’re at, what school you’re at, what sport you’re in, what job you’re doing, communication is something that we all could be better with,” she said. “And I think that…if we can become better communicators, stronger communicators, that it brings a sense of comfort, a sense of openness. It makes people feel like they can be more vulnerable…and open up with other people. That would be something that we can all work on and always work on.”
Between Newell and Storm Lake, Lindgren’s life has been shaped by a rural Iowa of old and a more global reality of the new. “Being in a small community with different ethnicities…,” she said, “If I would have been sheltered from that, I would probably be a different person. I think it breaks you out of your box a little bit and teaches you better communication.” Though she will always look back wistfully at her childhood experiences in town, she has embraced what the community has become. As she looks to the future, she sees a myriad of challenges awaiting her, both in terms of raising her boys and navigating the continuing challenges of COVID-19. However, she knows that she will always have her family, and community, to ground her.
Photo caption (top of article): Katie Lindgren with (left to right) Josh, Levi, Colton, and Cash.