While visiting Story City, Iowa to welcome Mark Jackson (BA '87, Public Administration; MA '91, Public Administration) as the new WMU Alumni Association President, Thomas noticed how quaint the town was and decided to write about it in his weekly update email:
“Although it is a small town of 3,500, Story City has it all – swimming pool, historic carousel, library, restaurants, move theater, parks, running trails, soccer and baseball fields, hotels—and a river that runs through it. It struck me as a cool balance between Bedford Falls (It’s a Wonderful Life) and a modern day Mayberry. I kept looking for Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, and Andy Griffith to magically appear.”
Mark Jackson is the City Administrator for Story City, and he felt the comments were worthy of being passed along to the mayor— so he did. The Mayor really liked what Thomas had to say and thought it should be included in the local paper. On June 26, an article was published in the Story City Herald.
Read the article here:
Story City Herald — Named President of the WMU Alumni Association
The image above features the Swinging Bridge in Story City.