Progress 2011: Pizza police

Published 8:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011

8 employees who work at Hy-Vee Gas in Albert Lea

18 hours of the day Hy-Vee Gas is open for business. The hours are from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., though the pumps can be used 24 hours a day with the pay-at-the-pump function

7 years Hy-Vee Gas has been in Albert Lea

Krista Anderson, left, and LaRaye Anderson pose with the pizzas they sell at Hy-Vee Gas. -- Photo by Kelli Lageson/Cutout by Stacey Bahr

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80+ Hy-Vee Gas stations in the United States

5-10 people per day need help with directions, broken down cars or borrowing a gas can

8 pumps at the gas station with three grades of gas in each pump

5 cents off gas is the daily discount after purchasing anything at Hy-Vee. Purchasing gas buster items means a 4 cent discount for each item up to 10 items. If a person bought 10 gas busters they could get 40 cents off each gallon of gas, and they could also use the daily 5 cent discount, meaning they could save 45 cents off each gallon for up to 40 gallons

Hero: LaRaye Anderson
Secret identity:
cashier
Base of operations: Hy-Vee Gas in Albert Lea
Superpowers: LaRaye is called the “pizza police” because she manages kitchen duties so well.
Kryptonite: learning to multitask when there are many chores and customers to take care of
Affiliations: LaRaye has four children, 10 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and her dog, Bandit.
Origin: LaRaye has worked at Hy-Vee Gas for more than four years. She stocks shelves, cooks in the kitchen and works the cash register. Hy-Vee Gas manager, Roxanne Brua, said LaRaye is good at following state sanitary guidelines, which has helped Hy-Vee Gas pass every check they’ve had.
“It’s a huge responsibility,” Brua said. “She’s very good at that.”

Hero: Krista Anderson
Secret identity: assistant manager
Base of operations: Hy-Vee Gas in Albert Lea
Superpowers: ordering and managing inventory
Kryptonite: Weather can make her job difficult because shoveling and cleaning up outside takes time that she could use to do other duties inside the store.
Affiliations: Krista has two children.
Origin: Krista has worked at Hy-Vee Gas since it opened more than six years ago. Previously the station was called Northbridge Mini Mart, where Krista started in 1998. Even though the store changed owners, Krista has enjoyed being assistant manager.
Krista said she enjoys seeing the regular customers who come in each day, and the travelers who stop by the store because they’ve enjoyed their experience there before.