T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — A small crowd gathered at the Dollar General in Albion on Saturday morning as Mayor Pat Hemming, center (wearing Iowa jacket), officially cut the ribbon on the new store, which has been open since April 1 at 103 E. South St.

ALBION — When Albion Mayor Pat Hemming read a story in the Times-Republican about Le Grand getting a new Dollar General store in town last February, it got him thinking that his own small Marshall County community about 20 miles to the northwest could use one of its own.

As part of a larger effort to grow the community and attract new businesses to Albion, which boasts a population just shy of 500 residents, Hemming ended up personally reaching out to the company’s CEO, Todd Vasos, even guessing (correctly) as to what his email address might be. Although Hemming had to wait a few days for a response, the ball got rolling in the right direction, and before long, the plans were in place to build on the south edge of town just off of Highway 330.

“I told (Vasos) a little bit about the community (and) how we have over 5,000 cars pass through this town daily on a major highway,” Hemming said. “Three days later, I had three vice presidents of Dollar General contact me and tell me they were interested.”

Once they ironed out a few details on land requirements for a potential build — at least two acres of ground on the highway where they would see street traffic — the company was actually able to land its first choice at 103 E. South St.

“This just made sense,” Hemming said.

Dollar General celebrated the new location, which officially opened at the beginning of April, with a ribbon cutting on Saturday morning including store staff and management, Hemming, City Clerk Ranea Wonders and a few members of the community who were popping in to do some early shopping at 8 a.m. Discount bags were also distributed to customers who entered the store.

“Dollar General thanks the community of Albion for welcoming us,” Store Manager Jennifer Andrews said.

So far, the Mayor said the feedback has been nothing but positive as residents appreciate the fact that they can get basic necessities without having to drive to Marshalltown. The store also employs four local workers.

“This store carries a lot. The one thing I have heard is a lot of people would like fresh produce here, and I know there are several people that are writing letters in hopes of getting fresh produce,” Hemming said. “It’s small-town Iowa. People have a tendency to move away from (it), and we’re really working hard to get people to move back. And this is a first step.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.