Small steps

While not scientific by any means, the question was recently asked, “What would you like to see go into the former Shopko building?”

There were some interesting answers like a roller rink, an outdoor retail outlet, a laser tag arena and even a lumber yard/agricultural combo with things like appliances or a paintball arena.

Realistically though, most of the answers were for things like a store similar to Shopko with household items, clothing, shoes and whatnot. There were also suggestions of another grocery store with the imminent closing of one of ours.

We need to take a hard look at the businesses that are closing in our community and make some sound decisions on what we actually need, not just pie-in-the-sky wishes. We also need to think about what things will bring jobs, tourism and sustainable income.

Being able to do all of our shopping locally would be awesome, but without certain things like shoes or even black pants for the kiddo’s concert readily available there are times when we have to go out of town or shop online.

Right now we have several open storefronts just waiting for someone with some imagination to fill a gap. We have some wonderful stores downtown so let’s think about things we don’t already have.

Strange as it may sound, Kanye West is planning on moving his line of shoe manufacturing to Cody. Why couldn’t we convince him to bring Yeezy here? Jobs, sustainable income and even tourists hoping to catch a peek at the star would be a benefit.

Small steps and giant leaps of faith are what we need.