Stores disappearing in our local malls

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I went for a walk through our College Square Mall in Cedar Falls the other day and was astounded to discover just how many businesses are gone. I counted 17 stores that are no longer in the mall and all the store fronts are still sitting empty. Zales and Kay jewelery stores were both gone along with Icings and Afterthoughts which were accessory stores, Just for Kids ( a consignment store)and several clothing stores, the arcade, Short's Travel Service and even Spencers was gone. I live in Waterloo and the job market is not that great here and now we have 17 mall stores that are gone. Where is the recovery of jobs that the staffing houses said would be back in October? I know that unemployment is high in the area and the extension for unemployment came through but it was only for 13 weeks and many will find that they will be lucky if they qualify and might not get the entire 13 weeks of the extension depending on what they have left in their accounts. It is going to get tougher for many couples who have no children at home and have no resources for help. Have you noticed stores closing in your areas? About the only stores doing well seem to be consignment shops and pawn shops.