Joe Swanson, a resident of Perry, Iowa, is no longer working in the town he loves and where his kids go to school. That’s because the city’s largest employer, a Tyson Foods pork plant, recently shut down.

Swanson says when the company announced in March they were shuttering the plant, he couldn’t risk unemployment because of his health issues. So when he found a new job with health benefits, he says he took it and left Tyson around six weeks before it officially closed on June 28.

“None of us picked this, and I just want everybody to be OK. Because I know how hard this is going to be for a lot of people,” said Swanson, who worked at the factory for nearly 14 years.

Many of the 1,300 hundred other laid-off employees are now grappling with the same situation — living, but no longer working, in Perry. A new path forward may be somewhere else.

“You have the power to make sure that you find the right opportunity that’s going to benefit you and your family,” Swanson said.

But the reality in Perry is that the right opportunities left a long time ago. The meat processing plant is not modern enough for the company, and upgrades would simply cost too much. 

“Maybe we were hoping for a miracle at first, where we can just turn off the lights on June 28th and turn them back on with a new user. And that’s simply not the case,” said Rachel Wacker, executive director of the Greater Dallas County Development Alliance.

The Tyson plant employed about 25% of Perry’s working-age residents before it shuttered, according to city and county officials. Accounting for workers’ families and businesses directly related to the plant, about 60% of the town is affected by the closure.

Two hundred team members relocated to Tyson facilities in Iowa and outside the state, Tyson Foods told CBS News.

The plight of the so-called “one-factory” town is not new.

In the 1970s, Youngstown, Ohio, was a thriving steel city of 140,000 people. The mills closed, and now the population is less than half of what it used to be, according to U.S. Census data. Ohio was hit hard again in 2008, when a shipping hub in Wilmington closed, leaving 42% of the working age population without a job.

In Farmerville, Louisiana, a chicken plant that employed more than a third of the town shut down in 2009, the CBS News data team found.

Back in Perry, people like Nacho Calderon are learning from history. After being laid off at the Tyson plant, he hopes to become a garbage or concrete truck driver.

Driving garbage trucks in Perry requires a commercial drivers license. The local community college is giving trucking classes for free to give workers a shot at staying in town.

Calderon says he’s sad he lost his job, and also for his coworkers who may not have cars or much money to help them get back on their feet.

As Calderon is still looking for work, Swanson has this advice: “Take control.”

He found a job handling maintenance at an apartment complex out of town.

“[It’s] what I feel like is a great opportunity, and I want that for everyone,” Swanson said.

It’s a hopeful wish for friends who lost their jobs, but against all odds, refuse to quit on their city.

The Iowa State Fair saw a slice of an authentic Mexican rodeo on Sunday afternoon. Charros and Ecaramuza from central Iowa performed on the Fairgrounds for the first time at Elwell Family Park.

The show demonstrated a sport known as Charreria, which is composed of 10 events called Charreada. However due to certain limitations, only five events were displayed including dancing, horsemanship and roping.

“Performing at the fair is amazing,” Alejandra Pina, captain of the Escaramuza Quetzallihas, said. “We’re mostly Iowans so it’s the culmination of a lot of dreams.”

Charreria as a sport orginates in Mexico and requires contestants to demonstrate skills with a lasso and control of their horse. It involves both showmanship and carefully refined technical skill. While Sunday’s show wasn’t competitive, Pina said it was good practice.

“The rings are a bit smaller,” she said. “And the ground is very different. We’re used to soft, sandy surfaces.” Pina’s assistant team coach, Anna Garcia, said she’d rolled her ankle once already after the first show.

President of the Charros clubs in Iowa and announcer at the event Juan Pina said they were “making history as we perform.” The Charros have been in the State Fair Parade for 16 years, but this is their first time performing on the grounds.

The show started with a dance routine by Wendy Espinoza, who shared the ring with a horse that trotted around in time to the music. A live band was present to score most of the show, adding yet more Mexican flair to the event.

After Espinoza, a lone Charros performed a series of technical maneuvers including multiple 360 degree spins in a row. Some of the maneuvers were even performed without a bit, a tool that makes it much easier to control the horse.

One of the highlights was an impressive display of skill with a lasso by Dariel Delgado, one of the younger Charros who performed. Not only did Delgado lasso a horse that was at all full speed, but he also performed 40 consecutive jumps through his lasso, a trick called the Texas Skip.

The crowd was treated to several more dances and shows before the event came to an end.

Pina said he hoped the show would be able to come back next year. Garcia agreed, calling the sport and show a labor of love.

“It’s a really fantastic way to connect with your roots,” she said.

The Escaramuza team that performed can be found on Facebook.

AMES – OK, are you ready for this? 

It’s as sure a sign that fall is near as pumpkin spice conquering every grocery aisle or a kid’s panic about the start of school. Before the leaves change or that first Oktoberfest finds a mug, this rite of autumn must occur. 

Consider this your yearly dose of optimism about the Iowa State offensive line. 

“The competition in the O-line room right now is great,” sophomore lineman Deylin Hasert said Thursday. “It’s making everybody better, and obviously we have a lot of guys that can play.” 

Yes, I know you’ve heard this before. And I know you’ve been burned by believing in Cyclone blockers in the past. All right, I know you’ve only been burned by belief. All that preseason hope. The talk of depth and versatility and competition and scheme change and on and on and on. 

And it’s mostly amounted to jack squat once the games started. 

I get it. The Iowa State offensive line has been disappointing more often than not in the eight previous years coach Matt Campbell has been at the helm. For all the wins, draft picks and success the Cyclones have had under Campbell, getting the O-line to “average” has seemingly been a yearly struggle. 

I know, I know, I know. 

But if we want fall to come and football to start, I’ve got to do this. So strap in. 

Maybe this year is different? 

Hear me out, at least. 

The Cyclones have experience, with James Neal, Jarrod Hufford, Jim Bonifas and Tyler Miller all back after starting all 13 games last season. Hufford has started 33 straight for the Cyclones. Brendan Block started the last five. 

They’ve brought in Jalen Travis, a 6-foot-7, 315-pounder who was a multi-year starter at Princeton. Hasert, a 6-foot-4, 315-pounder from Minnesota, is healthy after missing all of last year with an injury. 

That’s real experience. That’s real depth. 

“It’s been beneficial for us to be able to have this many players that can compete,” second-year O-line coach Ryan Clanton said. “It’s my job and our job as coaches to get those guys to play at a high level and to attack each day with a purpose.  

“They’re willing, have great intent and we’re chasing the development piece of it right now.” 

More: Hines: Iowa State football wide receiver Beni Ngoyi wants to talk about blocking

More: Hines: How Iowa State football’s pass rush issues can be fixed by a new Cyclones transfer

More: Hines: Talent alone not enough for Iowa State football to reach lofty goals

Iowa State now looks as though it might actually have the size and physicality to measure up in the Big 12. Travis and Miller project as towering bookends at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-9, respectively, at tackle. Neal, at 6-6 and 330 pounds, has been practicing at guard. Black is 6-4, 315 and with the brawling style befitting a former competitive weightlifter. If Hufford could move to center, that’s a 6-4, 325-pound sixth-year senior running the show. 

Those are honest-to-goodness real pieces for a good Big 12 offensive line. Let us also not forget that as rough as things got for the offensive line at times last year, there was real progress throughout the season. It wasn’t always sustained, but it was there.

“You can forecast as much as you want,” Clanton said, “but until you get in those situations as an offensive lineman and make it out and succeed and not just try to survive a situation, we’re trying to really test their mental capacity.” 

C’mon, coach. That’s too cautious of optimism. We’re trying to pump sunshine here. 

“They want to do something special,” Clanton said, “and they believe in this place.” 

That’s more like it. 

Now bring on the pumpkin spice and get to kickoff.  

Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.