At midnight, Newton’s Hy-Vee is still an active place. The aisles are littered with organized stacks of freight with workers in Hy-Vee polos and T-shirts unstacking pallets of the merchandise, freshly shipped from the company’s Chariton warehouse. Customers still leisurely shop and browse through products.

Recently, a new face can be seen walking out the double doors late at night. The store’s new director, Jason Crocker, leaves after a 15-hour day. Still with energy and white shirt pressed, the Newton Hy-Vee’s new boss has been pulling some late nights learning his new territory.

“That’s not typically asked of directors, but it’s either that or the hotel,” Crocker said, who has not fully finished moving his family to Newton. “I would much rather be here, and it gives me the opportunity to see all my people at all times of night and in different shifts.”