Expansion would bring jobs, help in recovery

I am a 23-year-old skateboarder and employee at Penford Products. Over the course of proposals to expand Penford, I've been shocked at the city's response. They juggle the expansion proposal to add good-paying jobs and more tax money (for a recovering city) like a bad circus act.

I've frequented the outdated, neglected, eyesore of a skatepark for about 10 years and observed attendance diminish in astonishing numbers. Penford offers to rebuild and relocate something the city has overlooked, but they have “the upper hand?” This city has nothing to offer young adults, and Penford is the reason I stick around. Good-paying jobs will bring more people and aid in our city's recovery.

The nearby museum operators may disagree but they chose their location half a century after Douglas Starch Co. was founded. Let's create more jobs and give this community what it deserves.

Travis McInroy

Cedar Rapids