Waukon Harley-Davidson, Waukon Powersports are under new ownership, now doing business as Iron Hill Harley-Davidson and Iron Hill Powersports


First Dollar visit for Iron Hill Harley - Davidson and Iron Hill Powersports ... The Waukon Chamber of Commerce conducted a First Dollar visit in conjunction with a ribbon cutting event held Wednesday, March 24 at the newly-owned Iron Hill Harley-Davidson and Iron Hill Powersports located at 208 Highway 9 SW, Waukon. Pictured at right, left to right, at the First Dollar presentation are Waukon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors member Tyler Halverson, Iron Hill Harley-Davidson and Iron Hill Powersports owners Mike Jennerjohn, John Jennerjohn, Brody Meier and Mike Dolan, Waukon Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Leddia Tallman and Waukon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors member Gail Prestemon. The four new owners pictured above recently purchased Waukon Harley-Davidson and Waukon Powersports and have officially begun operations as Iron Hill Harley-Davidson and Iron Hill Powersports.

A one-time topic of banter between young co-workers came to full-circle reality this past week, as a long-standing community business is now under new ownership in Waukon.

Once working together in their early careers as powersports enthusiasts, northeast Iowa natives John Jennerjohn and Brody Meier are now back together again as new owners of Iron Hill Harley-Davidson and Iron Hill Powersports after having purchased the long-standing Waukon Harley-Davidson and Waukon Powersports from community pillars Irv Fosaaen and Patty Nordheim.

“Brody and I first started out working together in July of 2009,” Jennerjohn explains. “We were very young when we started our careers in the powersports industry. Our families became very close friends over the years, even though our careers took us down different paths and moved us from working together as a team under the same roof. We always joked around when we were younger saying that one day we would purchase our own dealership. Well, that day became reality March 23!”

Although at one time their plan may have been talked about in jest, that dream took on a much more serious tone over the past couple years. The two had been looking into a couple different options for making their dream of dealership ownership reality when the opportunity in Waukon was brought to their attention.

“We started out looking to buy a metric dealership,” Jennerjohn further outlined. “As we worked through that opportunity I was presented with another option in Wisconsin. It just happened to work out, as the owner of the metric store had decided he was not ready to sell. We then started working a buy/sell with the second opportunity; this was a Harley-Davidson dealership. We had advanced in the process with that owner when one day I received a phone call from Harley-Davidson stating they had an opportunity that was closer to home for us.”

“We joked with one another, hoping it was Waukon,” the two partners further explained. “A couple weeks later we had the pleasure of meeting Patty.  We bonded with Patty very quickly and began the process that has led us to where we are today.”

One would be hard-pressed to find a Harley-Davidson dealership and ownership opportunity such as this one any closer to home for the Clayton County and Fayette County natives. Their new Waukon venture will be within an hour of their respective hometowns where they grew up.

Brody Meier and his wife, Melissa, have two sons, nine-year-old Taylor and eight-year-old Lincoln, as well as three dogs, Jack, Pepper and Riley. He is originally from Oelwein but currently resides in Marion. The Meier family plans to move to the La Crosse area upon completion of the current school year.

John Jennerjohn and his wife, Jessie, have four kids that include 15-year-old son Kale, eight-year-old daughter Avayah, five-year-old son Knox and two-year-old son Nash. The family also has two golden retrievers, Duke and Gus. John is originally from Strawberry Point and the family currently resides in Peosta, just outside of Dubuque. They plan to build a new house in Waukon, and their goal is to be moved in by the start of the school year this fall.

Jennerjohn and Meier are the more active half of an overall ownership group that also includes Jennerjohn’s father, Mike, and Mike Dolan, a pair the younger Jennerjohn described as “more silent partner owners.” Not only has the ownership group purchased the Waukon Harley-Davidson and Waukon Powersports locations owned by Nordheim and Fosaaen, but is also working to finalize the purchase of the La Crosse Area Harley-Davidson location as well, hoping to carry on what they know is a long-standing legacy in all those business locations.

“Patty and Irv have created a legacy with a great reputation,” the new owners shared. “Our goal is to build on the hard work they put in for 42 years and continue a family-owned business. We know we have some big shoes to fill and look forward to it every step of the way. We thank Patty and Irv for the opportunity they have given us and look forward to making them proud of the people they chose to carry on with the torch.”

While hoping to maintain the honor and tradition previously established, both Jennerjohn and Meier admit they also have some plans of their own they would like to try and implement into their new venture.

“Our future plans for the stores are to continue to embrace the sport as a whole and grow ridership in the area,” they offered. “We have future plans of bringing Bike Nights to the dealership. Who doesn’t love having a beverage while listening to a great band playing on stage?

Along with Bike Nights, we will have several other events throughout the year to give back to our customers and the community. Riding is exciting! It’s an adrenaline rush! We want to make sure the experience we offer mirrors the thrill of twisting the throttle. At the end of the day, that is why we do what we do, and we want to share that with everyone we possibly can.”

For now, the new owners will continue to get acclimated to their new venture and all the possibilities it holds for them. They certainly appreciate the welcome they have received from the local community in just the short time that they’ve been here and they look forward to continuing to be a part of what has made them feel so at home.

“We want to thank the community, as we have only been up here for four days now and everyone has been extremely welcoming,” they shared. “We can’t thank everyone who supported us at the (March 24) ribbon cutting enough.  That was a very special day to us and it meant a lot to see the support from people who are just getting the opportunity to meet us. As we had dinner at the Waukon City Club that night, we were welcomed by one of the owners, Vicki, and it was great, as a few people mentioned they had seen us on Facebook and congratulated us! Again, we just want to thank everyone for supporting us and welcoming us to the area. We are excited to be a part of the community and look forward to what our future holds.”