Editing Newton, Iowa (section)

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:Jasper County, Iowa Courthouse.jpg|thumb|left|[[Jasper County, Iowa|Jasper County]] Courthouse.]]
Newton was founded in 1846 as Newton City, then shortened to Newton in 1847 and incorporated as a city in 1857.  It was named to pair with Jasper County, following a common American naming scheme at the time in honor of [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] soldiers [[John Newton (soldier)|John Newton]] and [[William Jasper]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/FEATURES/Texas_town_names/Jasper_and_Newton.htm|title=Jasper & Newton, American Revolutionary War heroes and American towns and county names|website=www.texasescapes.com|access-date=2019-10-24}}</ref> In the late 19th century, Newton's growth was fueled by the development of coal mines in the region. The first significant mine in the area was the Couch mine of the Jasper County Coal and Railway Company, opened in the 1870s. For a while, it was the largest mine in the county, producing 70 tons per day. William Snooks opened a [[shaft mining|mine]] near Newton in 1886.<ref>James H. Lees, History of Coal Mining in Iowa, Chapter III of [https://books.google.com/books?id=1BUMAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA415&pg=PA564 Annual Report, 1908], Iowa Geological Survey, 1909, pages 564–565.</ref> In the early 20th century, large scale mining in the Newton area had declined, but there were still several mines in the area that were worked intermittently.<ref>Henry Hinds, The Coal Deposits of Iowa, Chapter I of [https://books.google.com/books?id=1BUMAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA415&pg=PA161 Annual Report, 1908], Iowa Geological Survey, 1909, pages 161–163</ref>

===Maytag and the era of growth===
In the 20th century, Newton was a manufacturing community, much of its growth derived from the [[washing machine]] industry. Its most distinctive landmark, the Jasper County Courthouse, was built in 1911.

Newton entered the national stage in 1938 when martial law was declared during a strike at the [[Maytag|Maytag Washing Machine Company]]. Iowa governor [[Nelson Kraschel]] ordered the [[Iowa Army National Guard|Iowa National Guard]] to protect the company with tanks and machine guns ready against the workers. With the backing of four troops (companies) of the [[113th Cavalry Regiment]],<ref>Steven E. Clay, ''U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919–1941'', Fort Leavenworth: Combat Studies Institute Press, p. 635.</ref> Maytag company beat the strike and forced workers to return to work with a 10% pay cut.

At the conclusion of World War II, the Maytag Washing Machine Company expanded its operations in Newton, becoming the [[Maytag Corporation]]. Known for its dependable line of washing machines and clothes dryers, the company later persuaded the town of Newton to change the name of its headquarters address in the city to "One Dependability Square."<ref>''Maytag's Brand Blunder'', BrandCultureTalk.com, January 9, 2009</ref> In 2001, a decision to cut labor costs resulted in a reduction of the labor force at the Newton plant in favor of newer Maytag facilities in Mexico.<ref>Pitt, David, ''Moves to Mexico Fuel Fears at Maytag'', Deseret News (Salt Lake City), August 6, 2003</ref> Layoffs at the Newton plant continued through 2005. Whirlpool's acquisition of Maytag in early 2006 led to speculation over the future of Maytag operations in Newton. On May 10, 2006, Whirlpool announced that it would close the Newton plant and corporate offices in the fall of 2007. The plant employed about 1,000 workers and the corporate offices employed about 800 at the time of the announcement.

In January 2007, Whirlpool said in a statement that it sold most of the Maytag headquarters complex to [[Iowa Telecommunications Services]] Inc., a Newton-based telephone company which would use the complex to consolidate employees in a single location.

[[File:Maytaghqnight.jpg|thumb|left|Former headquarters of the [[Maytag Corporation]], sold to Newton Enterprises in April 2012]]Although the company did not disclose financial details, Newton economic development officials said Iowa Telecom paid $1.5&nbsp;million for the buildings assessed at more than $12&nbsp;million.<ref>Ryberg Bill, Donnelle Eller, and Jennifer Jacobs. – "Maytag to Close: What it Means to Newton". – ''[[The Des Moines Register]]''. – May 10, 2006.</ref> The Maytag plant officially ended production on October 25, 2007.<ref>{{cite news|first=William|last=Ryberg|title=Production ends at Maytag|work=The Des Moines Register|url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071025/BUSINESS/71025022/1001&lead=1|date=October 25, 2007}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==="Newton's future" and the rebound after Maytag===
After [[Maytag]] announced its departure, community leaders and City administration worked together to develop a plan to diversify Newton's economy.<ref name="Riley">{{cite news|last=Riley|first=Charles|title=Iowa's turnaround town|url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/01/03/news/economy/Iowa_Newton/index.htm|access-date=10 October 2013|publisher=CNN|date=January 3, 2012}}</ref> After the Maytag plant closed, unemployment skyrocketed—rising to almost 10%. In 2010, Jasper County had the highest unemployment rate of Iowa's 99 counties at 8.2%. However, in the following years, the unemployment rate dropped considerably—down to 5.4% in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Iowa Workforce Development: Jasper County 2013|url=http://www.iowaworkforce.org/lmi/laborforce/etables/area50.txt|publisher=Iowa Workforce Development|access-date=10 October 2013}}</ref> More impressively, Newton's population did not drop following the departure of Maytag. Newton has had a steady population of about 15,000 since the 1960s.

Between 2007 and 2017, the following companies started in or moved to Newton: Underwriter's Laboratory, Trinity Structural Towers, TPI Composites, Aureon, Walter G. Anderson, the [[Iowa Speedway]], Health Enterprises, Engineered Plastics Company, Pact Manufacturing, Advanced Wheel Sales, and Hawkeye Stages.<ref name="newtonsfuture.files.wordpress.com">{{cite web|title=Newton's Future: A Comprehensive Plan|url=http://newtonsfuture.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/full-comprehensive-plan-10-10-2012-draft-smaller-file.pdf|access-date=10 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Selko |first=Adrienne |url=http://www.expansionmanagement.com/statespotlights/Iowa/19327 |title=Manufacturing Plant Site Location Strategies &#124; IndustryWeek |publisher=Expansionmanagement.com |access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref>

Legacy Plaza, the former Maytag corporate campus, contains eight buildings dating back to the early 1900s. The site was donated to [[Des Moines Area Community College]] (DMACC) by Reza Kargarzadeh in 2016. Some of the space is leased; current tenants include Compass Mortgage, DMACC Business Resources, Thombert, Aureon, Gezellig Brewing Company, Murph & Mary's Pub, CIRAS, Iowa Lean Consortium, Aerocare, MCG and Edward Jones.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.legacyplazaiowa.com/Pages/commercial.aspx|title=Commercial|website=legacyplazaiowa.com|access-date=31 January 2019}}</ref>

====Green manufacturing and sustainability====
One of the industrial sectors Newton has attracted in recent years is green manufacturing.<ref name="Riley" /> In December 2007, [[TPI Composites]] announced plans to open a plant to manufacture massive wind turbine blades, which are now in production.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=4&islist=true&id=2&d=11-28-2008 |title=NPR Media Player |publisher=NPR |access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> Today, TPI Composites employs over 1,100 people and has expanded its operations by 100,000 square feet as they began manufacturing composite bus bodies with Proterra.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newtondailynews.com/2018/09/14/tpi-celebrates-10-years-in-newton/attkeo8/|title=TPI celebrates 10 years in Newton|first=Jamee A.|last=Pierson|website=newtondailynews.com|access-date=31 January 2019}}</ref>

Additionally, Trinity Structural Towers, a company which manufactures wind turbine towers, opened in 2008.<ref name="nbcnews.com">{{cite news|title=Obama declares 'new era' for energy|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30347191|access-date=10 October 2013|publisher=NBC News|date=April 22, 2009}}</ref> President [[Barack Obama]] visited the Trinity Structural Towers plant on April 22, 2009, that year's [[Earth Day]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Jesse Lee |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/09/04/21/A-Busy-Earth-Day-Van-Jones-Video-All-Day-Live-Blog/ |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |title=A Busy Earth Day: Van Jones Video, All-Day Live-Blog |date=April 22, 2009 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> While at the factory in Newton, the President said that he traveled to the factory to usher in "a new era of energy exploration in America."<ref name="nbcnews.com" /><ref>[[Barack Obama|Obama, Barack]]. "[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-newton-ia Remarks by the President in Newton, IA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126115050/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-newton-ia |date=26 January 2017 }}" ''[[White House Office of the Press Secretary]]'', April 22, 2009.</ref>

Newton was awarded the National Sustainable Community of the Year Award (Small City Category) by [[Siemens]] and the [[US Chamber of Commerce]] in 2010 for its successful, pro-active approach to recovery.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Chamber and Siemens Corporation Announce Finalists for National Sustainability Awards|url=http://bclc.uschamber.com/press-release/us-chamber-and-siemens-corporation-announce-finalists-national-sustainability-awards|publisher=U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation|access-date=10 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218005627/http://bclc.uschamber.com/press-release/us-chamber-and-siemens-corporation-announce-finalists-national-sustainability-awards|archive-date=February 18, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Newton's future: a comprehensive plan====
In 2012, the Newton City Council passed "Newton's Future: A Comprehensive Plan."<ref name="newtonsfuture.files.wordpress.com" /> The Comprehensive Plan was written with the input of Newton citizens and reflects the community's goals for the future; the top goals identified in the plan were to grow Newton's population with an emphasis toward targeting young families, increase employment opportunities, improve the City's curb appeal, and fill vacant buildings and increase local shopping options.<ref name="newtonsfuture.files.wordpress.com" />