August 19, 2026

By Sara Millhouse

In 1908, after working at the town’s sawmill, John Finch’s great-grandfather Fred Friedlein joined the Meuser brothers to start Meuser Lumber in Guttenberg, Iowa, a pretty Mississippi River town of 1,800 people. The business has evolved over the years and expanded its services to meet community needs, from coal deliveries to equipment rentals and eventually opening a second Meuser Lumber store in nearby Elkader, Iowa (pop. 1,300). For decades, Meuser Lumber has remained a keystone of continuity in Guttenberg, for both individuals and contractors.

Owner John Finch jokes that he’s a relative newcomer to the family operation. “I say that I’ve been in the lumber business since 1970,” Finch said. “Of course, I was 12 in 1970.”

At 12, he was mowing grass, helping unload deliveries and getting in scrapes. “I fell off a roof or two when I was tarring something,” he reminisces. “My grandfather got kind of excited, but I wasn’t hurt.” 

In 2018, Finch bought Kuempel Hardware in Guttenberg, the city’s oldest business and a retail pillar in Guttenberg. “The hardware store was 10 years older than we are, and they had nobody coming up to take it over,” Finch said. “So we stepped in, so it’s still operating for the town.”

Finch is the fourth generation to run Meuser Lumber, and at 68, he knows the fifth generation is well prepared to run the business someday. His son Alex has worked in the business for the past 12 years.

“You always have an eye to make things better for the next generation,” Finch said.

That’s why Finch decided to install solar arrays to power Meuser Lumber in both Elkader and Guttenberg, leveraging a federal Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant. At the suggestion of Clayton County Energy District board member Jim Osterhaus, Finch enlisted the help of Steve Hopkins of Clean Energy Districts of Iowa (CEDI).

“What I was thinking is trying to make an investment that’ll cut expenses in the future,” Finch said of the project. “Electric costs are going to keep going up. That’s the way I reasoned it out.”

Meuser Lumber in Elkader utilizes a ground-mounted solar array. In Guttenberg, two rooftop solar installations at Meuser Lumber now serve two separate electric meters. They produce around 27,500 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, covering more than 70% of the store’s energy usage.

Hopkins helped Finch successfully apply for a REAP grant to cover a quarter of the project’s $67,000 cost, $16,678 to be exact. Finch praised the both organizations for easing a complex process undertaken amidst the bustle of running three businesses.

“It’s hard to keep everything straight,” he said. “They basically hold your hand and walk you through it.”

Finch was also able to file for a 30% tax credit available for small business owners, reducing project costs by another $20,000. “I talked to my accountant,” Finch said. “He’s always very persuasive. He said, ‘This is a really good deal.’”

Eagle Point Solar completed the rooftop solar project in late summer. Finch can’t count his cost savings until he’s had a year of functionality in the 120-degree seasonal swings of the Upper Midwest, but annual savings from the Guttenberg arrays is estimated at $3,107—money that will help keep Meuser Lumber competitive to meet the community’s future construction demands.

With 55% of the system cost covered, the rooftop system should pay for itself in a period of 10 years. “It’s an investment that’ll pay back in less electric costs,” Finch said. “I did it for the future.”