THE STORY OF TRAER John W. Traer, of Cedar Rapids, known among his friends as “Skinny”, platted the site of the town when the Pacific branch of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad came to the region in July 1873. The selected site was on land owned by Giles Taylor and J.L. Bull. Traer himself had owned a saloon in the new town, but although it had been named for him, he did nothing to further its development. An earlier Traer, J.C., was the clerk of court who signed orders for forming the three townships that made up Tama County in 1853: Bucking-ham, Indian Village, and Howard. In 1894, an iron worker in Burlington was commissioned by E.E. Taylor to construct the winding spiral stairway at 534—2nd Street as an access to the Traer Star Clipper office. Its design was constrained by the narrow proportions of the building to which it was attached, and showed imaginative use of limited space. During the bicentennial, this landmark was declared a National Historic Site, and Traer has adopted it as its symbol, along with the slogan, “Wind Up in Traer”. Such stairways are no longer uncommon, and those in Traer no longer lead to the newspaper office, which has been housed in a ground floor location since 1953. Among the many historic exhibits in the Traer Museum is the section honoring “Tama Jim” Wilson, who was the United States’ secretary of agriculture for 16 years. Traer hosts an annual Winding Stairs Festival every August as well as holiday activities in December. Traer City Hall 649—2nd Street, Traer, IA 50675 319-478-2580 cityclerk@traer.net www.traer.com

POPULATION 1,594 DEMOGRAPHICS White……………….…...…99.3% African American……………0.3% American Indian:…………….0.0% Asian: ……………………….0.1% Native Hawaiian……………0.0% Other race……………….….0.0% Two or more races…………..0.3% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)....0.1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS High school grad or higher…...88% Bachelors degree or higher......15% Civilian veterans….....….……..16% Disability status……….….…...20%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000

WORKFORCE In labor force (age 16+):.....57.1% Ave. travel time to work.....21.0 min Median family income:…..$43,375 Families below poverty level:.4.9%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000

www.tamacountyiowa.org

TRAER IOWA

GEOGRAPHY/CLIMATE: Gently rolling mid-continent fertile/high yield farmlands. Ave. High Low Precip. Snow Summer 83 61 13 0 Winter 31 14 4 21

Source: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, 2007

EMPLOYMENT: Corn, soybeans, cattle, & hogs anchor the agricultural economy. Larger payrolls: North Tama School District ……..100 Sunrise Hill Care Center ...……….83 Clearline Cutlery .……….……….19 Traer Super Valu …….….…...…..18 Farmers Savings Bank …...………12 Source: Tama County Economic Devel, 2009

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Farmers Savings Bank.$122 million total deposits Regions Bank……..…...$92 billion total deposits Members 1st Comm. Credit Union

Source: Federal Deposit Ins. Corp., 2008

TAXES: Sales tax:……..….….……… 7% State income tax......0.36%-8.98% (plus a base rate)

HOUSING median value of single family house….…...$68,400 median mortgage:…………..$620

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000

UTILITIES: Electric….....Traer Municipal Utilities Natural gas………...Alliant Energy Water………….…. City of Traer Sewer…….………...City of Traer Phone……………….Iowa Telecom Internet.........................Iowa Telecom Internet………....……...Mediacom TV Cable……….….…...Mediacom EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: North Tama Co. Comm. School District Elementary…………….…..Traer Middle school……………...Traer High school………………...Traer Enrollment………………..…520 Graduation rate…………....100% Curriculum units taught……..52.52 Total units required………...23.0 Hawkeye Comm College…...17 mi Iowa State University…….....62 mi Univ of Northern Iowa……...22 mi University of Iowa………......60 mi

Source: Iowa Department of Education, 2008

HEALTH CARE: Covenant Clinic……….....1 physician Volunteer EMS……..…..…...12 crew Sunrise Hill Care Center…..104 beds TRAER PUBLIC LIBRARY: Books & serial volumes:…...14,433 Total circulation:……...……36,727 Children’s materials:.……....14,977 Public internet terminals……..…..8

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2005

HOUSES OF WORSHIP Catholic Lutheran Methodist Presbyterian United Church of Christ RECREATION: City park, swimming pool, public golf course, theater. Wilson Nature Pre-serve, a tallgrass prairie reconstruction, is 1/2 mile off Highway 63 in Traer, offering a living museum of 75 prairie flowers and 10 grasses on two acres. Swimming, fishing, boating at Otter Creek Lake & Park, south of Traer.

TRAER, IOWA FACTS | Page 2

Updated 07/2009