Youth-oriented,” she whispered. That was Jan, Mike Schmitt’s wife of 48 years, who sat next to Elgin’s two-term mayor in case he needed a little prompting.
“She’s the driving force behind me. I rely on her for a lot of things,” Schmitt said with conviction. “We started this off together, and that’s the way we’ll end it.”
He’s referencing life in Elgin in all but four of his 67 years when he lived in Iowa. His mom, an Iverson, wanted to get closer to family and see her children grow up in this small town. So did Mike, because “this is a very caring community. If someone needs help, there’s always a person or group to make it easier.”
Back to being youth oriented. Jan and he have three sons, all working in law enforcement and living in Iowa, South Dakota, and southeast Nebraska. And nine grands which they adore, of course. For the complete story turn to this week’s edition of the Elgin Review.
