Creston

Leading up to the 2020 Iowa caucus, I photographed Creston, a town about the same size and only a few miles away from the town where I grew up. Iowa's small towns aren't that different from one another: most are old railroad hubs built in the late 19th century that today function as small agricultural hubs or bedroom communities for larger cities nearby. Creston has the same population density, the same architecture, the same smattering of local businesses struggling to capture local attention despite being housed in gorgeous 19th-century Richardsonian Romanesque buildings from the railroad era.

As a teenager, my first internship was with a newspaper very similar to Creston's own News Advertiser. After visiting Creston's cattle auction house, well-known in the area for its adjacent burger cafe, I had lunch with the News Advertiser’s publisher and managing editor. Despite national trends, local news is thriving there. It turns out that community newspapers provide an important social glue that is especially effective in smaller, rural communities, regardless of politics. While Iowa's larger media entities depend heavily on the revenue generated during caucus season and may shutter at the prospect of Iowa losing its first-in-the-nation designation, it seems that Creston could take or leave it.

Photographed for La Croix L'Hebdo

Cars drive down the street in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Publisher Rich Paulsen stands in the printing press room of the Creston News Advertiser, as well as several other local publications, in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Papers line a desk in the office of the Creston News Advertiser in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Managing Editor Sarah Scull sits in the office of the Creston News Advertiser in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A coffee pot sits on a counter in the office of the Creston News Advertiser in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Adam Baker, Steve Bergren, Paul Baker and John Weeks eat lunch in the cafe attached to the Creston Livestock Market in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A television displays a feed of bidding underway at the Creston Livestock Market in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A resident reads a newspaper outside Creston Livestock Market in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A press worker looks over papers in the printing room of the Creston News Advertiser in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A resident walks past a mural on the wall of the Creston News Advertiser in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A water tower stands above the city of Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Goods sit on display at Create Creston in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A light pole stands through an awning in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A mural depicts a historic scene in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Men watch and prepare to bid on cattle at the Creston Livestock Market in Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Cattle belonging to Jean Weisshaar's family graze after being fed at their pasture in Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Mary Jane Weisshaar holds a photograph of her with president Jimmy Carter at her home in Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Road signs indicate directions outside Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

An old campaign sign for Staci Appel lies in an enclosure at the home of Mary Jane Weisshaar and Joe Weisshaar in Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A cat looks out from the front porch of a home in Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A sign indicates a Level B road outside Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Water fills a valley in a field outside Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A gate sits ajar in a field outside Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Wind turbines blow in fields outside Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Frost rests on barbed wire outside Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A stream flows into a pond outside Creston, Iowa on Friday, December 13, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

A truck sits parked near a grain silo in Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

Jean Weisshaar poses in her driveway at her home in Creston, Iowa on Thursday, December 12, 2019. KC McGinnis for La Croix L'Hebdo

KC McGinnis
KC McGinnis

Creston

KC McGinnis

KC McGinnis is a photographer and photojournalist raised in Iowa and based in Des Moines.