Last week, every household in Earlham, Iowa — all 549 of them — received a gift that no one was expecting.
On March 26, Mayor Jeff Lillie received a phone call from a man calling on behalf of an anonymous donor looking to help boost the town's economy. The donor wanted to buy and then give away 100 $50 gift cards for the Hometown Market and West Side Bar and Grille, but Lillie offered a suggestion. A new restaurant had just opened up in town, Trostel's Broken Branch, and he was hoping they could be part of the deal.
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