KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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A truck body manufacturer in Liberty is expanding its operations, retaining more than 100 jobs while creating 160 new jobs, after the city offered a multimillion-dollar incentive package to keep the company from leaving the city.
Dakota Bodies will move to a 170,000-square-foot facility on Shepherd Road late this summer, nearly doubling its current footprint in the city. The company says it plans to spend more than $10 million on equipment and to ramp up hiring in May and June.
Braden Edwards, president of Dakota Bodies, said the company saw competitive bidding from several other cities.
"The incentives that Liberty offered, in addition to being able to stay here, to be able to keep our current team members, won out for us," Edwards said.
The city approved a plan to issue up to $12,550,000 in taxable industrial development revenue bonds. The project includes a 10-year tax abatement at 90% for both real and personal property, alongside a sales tax exemption.
I asked Liberty Mayor Greg Canuteson how the tax breaks would affect taxpayers.
"Well, if Dakota Bodies had left, the taxing jurisdictions would get zero," Canuteson said. “This is a competitive economy, and we were able to keep them there by offering these incentives.”
Instead of paying regular property taxes, the company will pay about $120,000 to government entities that normally rely on property taxes, such as the Liberty School District.
"Those are really good jobs, and those people will live in our community, they'll send their kids to our schools, they'll shop in our stores, they'll go out to our restaurants," Canuteson said.
Brothers James and Roth Stradtner, who live in Cameron, have worked together at the company for years and are relieved to keep their jobs close to home.
"My job is secure. I'm not having to move or try to find another place to start again," James Stradtner said.
"Nobody wants to be looking for a job, right?" Roth Stradtner added.
Edwards said the skills of the workers were important in the company's decision to stay in Liberty.
"One of the great reasons to be here is obviously we've been able to get the skilled labor that we've needed to be able to support our business for several years here," Edwards said.
Wayne Compton, who lives in Liberty and has worked in the materials department for six years, hopes to grow with the company.
"We'll see where the sky takes us," Compton said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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