City Jobs

Business of the Week 5-12-17

Business of the Week:  Ames Percheron Farm

When It All Began

It all began in 1874 when John and Eliza Ames immigrated to America from their native England. Hard work and integrity were the sustaining forces to their success in this country, and, to every generation that followed.

The Percherons became an Ames family tradition with John and Eliza’s sons, George and Charles, on the family farm. At one time the two brothers owned over 60 purebred Percherons.

Charlie Ames bred, registered, and showed Percherons from 1915 through 1939. The most notable of those shown was the stallion Irida Boy, purchased from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Irida Boy was sired by Althazar, winner of the 1914 Eastern States Percheron Futurity Show, and out of the French-bred mare, Irida. The senior breeding stallion for Chas. G. Ames and Son from 1919 until 1929, Irida Boy was considered a stallion before his time.

Even after retirement from breeding, Irida Boy continued to head the Ames show string, campaigning at the 1929 Chicago International Livestock Exposition at the age of thirteen, along with an endless number of offspring following suit. When the Percheron Society of American initiated its Premier Sire Award in 1929, Irida Boy stood eighth in the top ten sires then found in the United States.

The Ames’ love and respect for the Percheron was perpetuated through George’s son, Chester, who carried on his family’s passion for farming and this marvelous horse. When Chester was seventeen, his father moved the family to Minnesota. Four years later, Chester met and married Ruby Belle Reisinger and started his own farm in Farmington, Minnesota.

On The Farm and Beyond

Chester and Ruby Ames raised 8 children on the farm, and as tradition would stand, passed their farming heritage on to their children. Their oldest son, Dick, a lifelong horseman, developed a profound respect for the horse that dates back to an era when the draft horse was essential to the operation of the big farms in the Midwest.

Though the Percherons began as workhorses on the farms, showmanship and competition has become the mainstay for the present day teams at the Ames Percheron Farm.

BackcoverAmes Construction, Inc. is one of our nation’s largest heavy civil and industrial construction companies. The corporate headquarters is located in Burnsville, Minnesota, still close to where the family tradition began many years ago. With a work force of over 2,000 employees, the company takes pride in their reputation for quality construction of airports, bridges and highways, golf courses, mine development and reclamation, commercial site development, power plants, railroads and water treatment plants. It is only fitting that the Percheron was chosen as the company’s symbol of Ames “Pride,” a tradition instilled in every project, whether it related to construction or horses.

Contact Us

AmesPercherons_8-12_0105If you are planning on visiting us at Ames Percheron Farm,
please contact us.

Manager & Trainer: Travis Shaw
Assistant Trainers: Randy Riemer and Tim Sparrow
Barn phone: (952) 492-6191
FAX (952) 492-5813
Email: info@amespercherons.com

Website: http://amespercherons.com/

Planning Commissioner

Position Objectives

The role of the planning commissioner is to review and act on matters related to planning and development. In addition, commissioners have a role in the updating and adoption of City plans based on community input, staff recommendations, what is best for the whole community, and taking into account its immediate and future needs. The commissioner also reviews development applications, researches planning issues, stays current on planning practices, and monitors code compliance. The commissioner must ensure that each proposal meets the goals and standards set out in the City plans and the land use codes (e.g., zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, etc.).The commissioner serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council. The commissioner works toward implementing the vision of the community and the City Council for the future as expressed in the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The commissioner should have skills related to civic-mindedness, an interest in planning, objectivity and an open mind to new ideas, ability to listen, ability to express oneself clearly and concisely in public, enough free time to adequately prepare for meetings, no conflicts of interest, be willing to participate in discussions and activities that advance the community, ability to work with a group to achieve general agreement or consensus on community issues, and maintain good working relationships with other planning Commission members, as well as with planning staff, other city staff, the City Council, applicants, consultants, and the public.