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Connell's economy has revolved around French fries for over half a century. The plant processed an astounding 300 million pounds of potatoes into fries each year until its closure in September. This economic backbone supported numerous families and businesses, including the Kunkel family, who moved to Connell in 2013. Adam Kunkel found a job at the plant while his wife, Katrina, opened a local coffee shop. Their dreams of stability and growth quickly turned into a fight for survival as the plant’s abrupt closure left them, and many others, jobless.