Snapshot of History
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Cunning Insurance Co., Inc. in Mt. Ayr in 2012.
BY MIKE AVITT
The west side of the Mt. Ayr square was being renovated when I took this photo on October 11, 2012.
Deb Larson has been at 106 E. South Street with her insurance business since 2008. At first, she was with Farmers Insurance, but is independent now with The Insurance Station at the same location.
Ground-breaking for Page County State Bank took place in 2014 and the business opened in their new location, 904 E. South St., on June 1, 2015.
In September 2014, Kim Greenland and Hannah Covington opened the City State Bank Loan Production office at 120 S. Taylor, the former location of Klejch Insurance. This firm would evolve into City State Bank. CSB opened in late 2015 in David Cunning’s former location at 103 W. South St. – The Barn. Cunning moved to 110 W. Madison, the former location of Page County State Bank. David’s business was United Country. United Country is now in the hands of Rhonda Triggs.
In 2016, David Cunning sold the farm management portion of his business to Cody Shay. The Shay Company opened in early 2017 at 110 W. Madison with Cody Shay and his sister-in-law, Brandi Shay, as owners. Their business is centered on farm management and business analytics.
On August 1, 2019, Ted Smith changed the name of his business, Cunning Insurance Co., to Ringgold Insurance Services. Ted and his daughter, Renda, run the office at 111 S. Fillmore. I also learned Ted, Renda, and David Cunning are associates of the Shay Company. I believe that has to do with real estate, but I don’t know enough about business to try and explain that.
So, now Mount Ayr has four banks and more real estate agencies and insurance offices than I can count. There are fewer lawyers but more Certified Public Accountants. I don’t understand the abstract and title business, but there are two firms that deal with that.
I want to, again, congratulate Bill French on 73 years in the business and all of those years in the same building.