Audubon is Perfect For All Ages
Greg and Carolyn Bruun couldn’t deny the arithmetic — with quality healthcare for their aging parents, excellent education for their growing grandchildren and countless career and extracurricular opportunities for themselves, the choice to call Audubon, Iowa their home was undeniable.
Combined Greg and Carolyn have lived in Audubon County for 100 years, and with their two children and six grandchildren firmly rooted in Exira and Shelby, they foresee only additions to that milestone.
“Greg and I were both born and raised here, as were our parents, our children and now our grandkids,” said Carolyn. “We’ve got everything we could want here in Audubon without the stresses of a major metropolitan area.”
Greg has been the owner of Countryside Motors, Inc. since 1994. Countryside has manufactured tractor-trailer parts since 1987, and Greg, a machinist, runs a machine shop out of Countryside, employing two and catering to farmers and builders. Carolyn works in law enforcement, as an administrator with the Audubon County Sheriff’s Department and in records with the Audubon Police Department. For the Bruun’s, what makes Audubon and Western Iowa so appealing is the comfort and convenience.
“The thing that makes Audubon great is the ease of living,” said Carolyn. “After going raspberry picking with my granddaughter, I can put the potatoes on to boil and be back from the grocery store by the time they’re done. The lack of stressors here makes life more enjoyable.” It’s convenient and it’s inexpensive to live in Audubon. With housing costs so low, Carolyn says Audubon is seeing an influx of residents from out of town and out of state. While the town’s beauty attracts many residents, Carolyn says entrepreneurs need to follow suit. “With all this growth, the residents are welcoming and optimistic, making Audubon an ideal place to start a new business,” said Carolyn. “Everyone can be an asset in growing a community.”
Carolyn takes the most pride in Audubon’s quality school system, through which her 11-year-old granddaughter is involved with the Belin-Blank Institute, a University of Iowa program that identifies talented children and facilitates skill enhancement through online courses and other technologies at the school districts’ expense. Also second to none, according to Carolyn, are the region’s healthcare opportunities. Renovation and expansion to the Audubon County Memorial Hospital in 2005 welcomed surgeons and specialists from Des Moines and Omaha, one of whom recently caught early stages of cancer in Carolyn’s father. Assisted living facilities in Audubon are such that the Bruuns felt comforted when moving their parents out of their homes and entrusting others to care for them.
“If you can have good medical care and your grandkids can have good schools, why wouldn’t you live here?” said Carolyn.
