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Tribute to Grease Monkey and Pete and Brad Krause

Topics: Grease Monkey, Brad Krause, Pete Krause

Tribute to Grease Monkey and Pete and Brad Krause

Congressman David Young
Congressional Record: 114th Congress
Extensions of Remarks
January 13, 2016

SPEECH OF HON. DAVID YOUNG OF IOWA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016

Mr. YOUNG of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Pete and Brad Krause of Council Bluffs, Iowa. On December 2, 2015, Pete, Brad, and their staff celebrated 30 years in business at Grease Monkey, an auto shop that offers oil changes and other auto maintenance services.

Pete and his Grease Monkey franchise have become an institution in Council Bluffs, but if it weren't for some unfortunate circumstances, it may never have even been established. Pete became stranded in Council Bluffs in 1960 on his way home to Minnesota from college in South Carolina. He had run out of gas and money. He took a temporary job in Omaha, Nebraska, to make enough money to get back home, but he never made it there. Pete opened his business in 1985 and his son, Brad, joined the family business in 1991. Brad became an owner in 2013 after purchasing the business from his father. The company has 13 employees and serves over 500 vehicles weekly. Pete said the business has gone through many ups and downs, including surviving the 1988 tornado that caused extensive damage to the store. The Council Bluffs Grease Monkey is a very successful franchise and ranks third in sales among Grease Monkey franchises throughout the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Pete and Brad Krause, along with their staff, for the dedicated service they provide to Council Bluffs and southwest Iowa. I ask that my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives join me in congratulating the Council Bluffs Grease Monkey on this momentous occasion and in wishing Pete, Brad, their families, and employees nothing but the best moving forward.