Shoppers dash through snow to Lindale

CEDAR RAPIDS - Necessity, boredom and opportunity drove shoppers to Lindale Mall on Wednesday afternoon.

They roamed freely through Sears and Younkers - the mall's two open stores - snatching up bargains, Christmas presents, coats, snowblowers and appliances to replace items that had conked out.

Most lived in the vicinity, and even those who had a ways to drive reported little trouble getting there.

Travis Krousie, 50, of Fairfax, said the roads were good for his trek to buy a refrigerator at Sears. The best part of his shopping experience? “No waiting,” he said.

Jana Kotaska, 49, of Cedar Rapids, and her husband, Ed, 50, were grinning as they gripped their bags of bargains for Christmas giving.

 “We're not buying anything unless it's on sale,” Jana said, pleased with her finds at Sears.

Katie and Jason Thompson, both 28, of Cedar Rapids, were staving off boredom as they searched for a steam vac at Sears, doing a bit of comparison shopping online via their BlackBerry smart phones.

They both work retail, but were using their snow day to shop, instead.

 “Since we're stuck at home and we're going to sell our home, we're looking for a steam vac to clean the carpets,” Katie said.

At the other end of the mall, Paul Hasley, 64, of Cedar Rapids, was reaping the rewards of his earlier efforts. “I got us all dug out and my wife said, ‘Good! We're going shopping,'” he said while his wife tried on coats at Younkers.

Meanwhile, a mother and daughter used their snow day to bond over bargains at Younkers.

“We don't get to shop together very often,” said Nancy Gardner, 57, of Cedar Rapids. She ventured out with daughter Jenna, 21, who has just moved back home.

 “We came for good buys and little crowds,” Nancy said. “I said we'll probably be the only people in the store, but that's not so.”

Dalton Bitz, 19, of Cedar Rapids, had to dodge several obstacles to get to work, from getting his new diesel truck to start, to driving through a couple of snowdrifts and getting stuck in the mall parking lot.

A sales consultant in Sears' home improvement section, once he got to work, he was busy showing customers snowblowers.

 “We sold 30 the first two hours we were open,” he said.

Krenz father and son Gene, 61, and Jusdyn, 36, both of Cedar Rapids, were among those people looking to lighten their snow load, since Gene's snowblower wasn't working. Both will benefit from a new machine.

“We have a gentleman's agreement,” Jusdyn said. “It's his snowblower, but I operate it and take it home to blow my snow.”

Bitz was expecting to work the whole day, but said he didn't mind. “It's helping people, and that's really nice.”