INDEPENDENCE | "Go in. Buy something. Help small business," Hillary Clinton urged to press pool preceding her into Laree's Independence gift shop.
Clinton, a Democratic candidate for president, was in northeast Iowa Tuesday to continue a conversation with small business owners.
She held a roundtable with four regional business leaders at Bike Tech in Cedar Falls on Tuesday morning. After the event, she traveled with a press pool to Independence to meet business owners at their shops.
Her first stop was Em's Coffee Co., where Clinton ordered an espresso and placed an order for a sandwich before heading to Laree's.
Em's Coffee Co . is run by Emile Hillman, 26, with help from her mother Tami Fenner.
While reporters tracking Clinton did not have the opportunity to shop, the new grandmother picked up some gifts for her grandchild.
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Clinton bought a 2-in-1 talking plush ball and a farm animal plush barn that made farm noises. She also purchased a book titled "Theories of Everything," which left her cracking up laughing and ultimately reading a passage to reporters.
"This was a great stop," Clinton said as owner Laree Randall totaled up Clinton's purchases.
Before heading to Laree's, Clinton met owner of Hardware Hank Shirley Tekippe and her son Terry Tekippe.
"I think it was wonderful. I think it was great she took time to stop in our small community," Terry Tekippe said.
Shirley Tekippe and Randall had both met Clinton before Tuesday's stop in Independence.
Shirley said she'd met the former first lady during her 2008 campaign for president. She remembers Clinton praised her pink sweater.
"She didn't have to do that," Shirley said.
Terry Tekippe's message to her going forward was a simple, "Hopefully she remembers Main Street. Main Street is important."
