Ames residents are asked to consider the issue of the new mall, land-use issues and how Ames will grow in the future while voting in the upcoming city election.

With a regional mall located in West Des Moines, a factory outlet in Story City, Ankeny’s unlimited sprawl malls, chain stores on Duff Avenue, local businesses in downtown Ames, and Younkers, J.C. Penney and Sears anchoring North Grand Mall, what type of mall can possibly locate in Ames that isn’t stealing the retail base from somewhere else?

The only business I can think is missing is Super Wal-Mart, and I hope that isn’t what Ames’ new regional mall would be all about. A Super Wal-Mart on I-35 isn’t sustainable development.

We aren’t looking for part-time retail jobs that will pay minimum wage and provide no insurance benefits in Ames.

Ames should continue to allow Ankeny to attract those types of businesses.

Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell. Ankeny unveiled a plan last week that projects the need for nearly 33,000 more acres in the next 20 years. Do the residents of Ames really want to compete with Ankeny in a growth war?

We will win that war observing from the sidelines. It’s called quality of life.

Michelle Arney

Junior

Pre-Journalism and Mass Communication