A Decorah motel is in the midst of a controversy over its actions toward a guest

A photo of Jimmy

Mike and Cassidy McKinney were on their way back to their hometown of Newton, Iowa earlier this month after spending their honeymoon traveling along the Mississippi River.  They were traveling towards Decorah when they spotted Jimmy, a homeless man walking up a steep hill, struggling to push a bike loaded with all his belongings.

Cassidy tells decorahnews.com she was raised to look out for others.  Her family had helped those less fortunate fairly regularly. The McKinneys decided to take $20 each day and purposefully look for someone to help out. "God's been good to us, so we try to pay it forward," said Cassidy.

When they saw Jimmy on the side of the road, they knew he was the one they were supposed to help that day. "When I looked into Jimmy's eyes, I could tell he had a good heart," Cassidy recalled. The McKinney's decided to help find a motel room for Jimmy so he could rest up before he went to the next town. They took him to Super 8 in Decorah and paid for two nights' stay on their personal credit card.  They helped Jimmy get settled, shared food with him and left a phone number with the motel in case he needed anything after they left.

That night Mike says he received a phone call from Super 8's manager saying the clerk had made a mistake and the rooms were all booked for the following day, so Jimmy would have to leave first thing in the morning. The McKinney's thought that sounded strange, so Cassidy called up the hotel to ask for a room, and was told there were plenty of rooms available to choose from.

The manager of the Super 8 tells a different story.  He says other motel guests complained about Jimmy's behavior and that was the reason Jimmy wasn't allowed to stay a second night.  The manager says he issued a refund to the McKinney's for the cost of the second night in the room.  "I feel sorry for him," he tells decorahnews.com, but adds, "We didn't do anything wrong."

The Decorah Human Rights Commission has been informed of what happened.  The chair of the commission, Amalia Vagts, says her group will be discussing it at their next meeting.  At issue is whether the motel broke any laws.  In order to take any action, the Commission would have to prove that service was denied to a member of a protected group because of their inclusion in that group—and it's not known whether Jimmy would qualify for being in a protected group.

As for Jimmy, several Decorah residents spotted him the next day and tried to help.  One resident made several phone calls to the police, the Peace and Justice Center, a couple of churches and the Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation, but quickly found out Decorah does not have a system in place to help in this type of situation. They finally found a taxi service willing to give him a ride to Cresco.  From there, Jimmy reunited with a family in New Hampton who had let Jimmy stay with them a couple years ago.  Jimmy has since decided to head to Omaha, Nebraska and will be taken there by the New Hampton family.

As for the McKinneys, Cassidy is philosophical, saying, "Love thy neighbor. You never know when you'll need help."