Mobile barbershop debuts in Iowa with free haircuts
An eastern Iowa barber finally saw his dream of operating a mobile barbershop come true on Monday.
KCRG reports until last year, mobile barbershops were not legal in Iowa.
“There was a law that said you can’t have a mobile unit and there really wasn’t any good reason for it, it was just in the law,” Rob Peters, the director of grassroots operations at Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy group, said.
William Burt, of Kut Kings in Waterloo, advocated changing that law, and Gov. Kim Reynolds invited him to be her guest as she signed that change into law in early 2020. Now, Burt is using his mobile barbershop to cut hair on a mission.
“I grew up kind of that underserved kid in an underserved community,” Burt said.
Burt said that he wants to give back to young people the best way he knows how.
“This happened to be my expertise so this is my way of giving back,” Bart said.
The shop’s first stop was the Westminster Presbyterian Church parking lot in southeast Cedar Rapids.
“It was just exciting to be a part of seeing this happen,” Roger Grandia, the senior pastor at the church, said.
Nicole Halstead, of Cedar Rapids, had four sons get their haircut at the mobile barbershop Monday.
“It definitely helps because when you go to the barbershop with four boys you could come out paying like $80 to $100,” Halstead said. “And when I tried to do it myself, it didn’t look this good.”
Brandon Jackson, with Dream Sports, helped coordinate the effort by helping to find families who could really benefit from this.
“We understand especially for parents how difficult it can be,” Jackson said.
Those on the receiving end couldn’t help but come out smiling.
“Totally fresh, they look really good,” Halstead said.
Burt hopes to bring his mobile barbershop to Cedar Rapids each month, to continue giving back one haircut at a time.
You can donate to the effort here.