Lobberecht and Besco are talking about trying to catch up with local National Guard units, including the 833rd Engineer Company, for unit photos with the tractor. It’s nothing concrete yet. May never be. But it’s something Lobberecht wants to do if the soldiers want the photo.

It’s more than Lobberecht ever intended when he made the comment about painting one of his tractors black.

“Two years later, there’s a black one here,” he said. “Because we can. It’s a free country. And it’s because of these people.”

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Matt Milner can be reached at (641) 683-5359 or via e-mail at mwmilner@mchsi.com