27-year-old electrician flips, moves Holstein, Iowa, market

HOLSTEIN, Iowa | Taylor Nees is at the center of a youth movement in Holstein, his hometown.

Nees, 27, left home after his 2009 graduation from Galva-Holstein High School. Following a period of study (and playing basketball) at Central College in Pella, Iowa, Nees went to work pouring concrete in Carroll, Iowa. He then found work raising cows at Maple River in Carroll County.

"And then I moved back home to become an electrician as my mom and stepdad, Mike and Nancy Johnson, needed the help," said Nees, a licensed journeyman electrician at Holstein Electric, a firm that's grown from eight employees to 14 in the five years since Nees has been back. Nees takes a test in May to become a master electrician.

Along the way, he has purchased and refurbished three homes near his old high school, which now goes by the name of Ridge View High School. The first, on the 100 block of Davenport Street, is a 2-bedroom, 1 bathroom home that nobody had lived in for a long time.

"It's wasn't in very good shape," said Nees, who disclosed buying the property for $17,000. "I moved in and lived there for a couple of years while I was fixing it up. I still own it."

Nees joined his buddy, Elijah Miller, in erecting a two-car garage adjacent to the home. Using a loan, he worked to refurbish the interior and eventually rented it out to a firm whose workers were building the 4-lane Highway 20 and a windmill farm around Holstein.

"That house holds two guys," he said.

Nees then purchased a three-bedroom home around the corner. This two-bathroom structure featured a single-car garage. Nees didn't live in that house, however, as it only need a few cosmetic touches before he began renting it out. Again, he rents it to workers who are doing Highway 20 construction.

About 19 months ago, he bought his third home, a three-bedroom, two-and-one-half-bathroom house across the street from the high school. Again, it's within a baseball toss of the other two structures. Nees lives in this site while renovating the interior, a project he started by taking out a wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. That step created an open concept on the first floor, a level that also includes the mater bedroom, master bathroom, a full laundry area and another half-bath.

"I probably have $10,000 in the kitchen materials alone," he said, explaining how he built a form for which he poured a sink while standing in his living room. The counter features three separate pieces of concrete, all of which Nees did himself.

The modern look is touched off by a corrugated steel roof, new cabinets and appliances and laminate flooring.

"There's Rebar throughout the concrete counters," he said, running his hand across the sealant's smooth finish. "I also poured the concrete for the counter last winter right here in the living room and then we lifted the pieces in place."

Additionally, the shower he built for the master bathroom is all concrete, a fortress of sorts for Nees, who stands 6-feet 6-inches and weighs 300 pounds.

"It was the first shower I've built," he said, moments after walking through the wooden double doors he kept to separate bedroom from bath.

There are also two bedrooms upstairs and another full bathroom, areas that continue to receive Nees' attention when he's not at work, serving as project manager for Holstein Electric, a firm playing a key role as Holstein expands eastward on Benning Drive, adjacent to the No. 7 hole at Holstein Country Club.

"We built two new duplexes," Nees said, offering a tour of the one that hasn't yet been rented.

"I love doing all this because Holstein is going to grow," said Nees. "I'm doing what I can because I want to see young people in their 20s and 30s living here. Holstein offers pretty cheap living, plus it's a fun place to be."

How fun? Well, Nees also shows that side while unveiling a set of custom-made overalls he's working to mass produce. The overalls contain special pockets and holders, allowing the wearer to store up to eight or 10 cans of beer or pop. The zipper has a bottle opener, of course.

There's also a drone business directory Nees is getting, ahem, off the ground. Twelve businesses have signed on with Nees, who has flown one of his three drones throughout his hometown in his effort to scan and film the rooftops, seeking ways to promote the community and his business partners back on the ground.

"I want to get a drone directory," he said.

Finally, Nees, through Holstein Electric, also has dipped his hand into a certified-apprenticeship program, the kind of program he completed a few years ago. Currently, there are two students working for Holstein Electric while going through the program. 

"They work for us full time and we pay for their schooling," said Nees, a worker and thinker, a mover and shaker who's bullish about all sorts of things young people can accomplish in his -- and for his -- hometown.