The Square

Learning from successful and seasoned Mayors is not only helpful in gaining understanding…it is also a lot of fun! We welcome Caleb Housh, Mayor of Seymour, and Courtney Clark, Mayor of Waukee to The Square where they share about themselves, how they ended up in city government, their accomplishments, and what campaigning is like.

Milestone birthdays only come around every so often. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Iowa League of Cities. This is something worth celebrating for any organization, and we will be doing just that this year. We welcome Jess Vogel and Alan Kemp from the League to share their research and insight on the past 125 years and hear about several milestones along the way. Look for other ways we are celebrating throughout the year by subscribing to League Weekly and checking out Cityscape magazine.

Each year during the League's Annual Conference & Exhibit we get the honor of inducting someone to the Hall of Fame which recognizes individuals who have provided extraordinary public service to the League and local government. This year was no exception to that rule. This month on The Square, we chatted with our two newest Hall of Fame winners, Larry Burger and Teresa Rotschafer. Hear how they got involved in city government and what has kept them committed to serving Iowa cities. We also welcome Aaron Smith, Chief Bond Programs Director for Iowa Finance Authority. Aaron shares a variety of resources available to cities around the state and different ways the Iowa Finance Authority is making an impact on cities.

During this month’s episode, we welcome two very talented (and quite humorous!) city clerks as Trish Gleason with the city of Dubuque and Shelby Hagan with the city of Bondurant join The Square. Gleason and Hagan share how they ended up working as city clerks and the variety their job brings on a daily basis. This episode is full of fun and meaningful stories that all city clerks across the state can relate to.

As we all enjoy a nice, warm Iowa summer, The Square sits down with Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart, whose community will serve as host to the League's 2022 Annual Conference & Exhibit. Mayor Hart and his team are excited to welcome city officials from around the state and show off the impressive work being done in Waterloo, including the redevelopment of a historic neighborhood, riverfront amphitheater, downtown amenities, and more. We also have a special guest in this episode as the League's new Membership Services Coordinator, Amanda Trebon Boyd, joins us to share her background and how she got to the League.

Why does my small city in Iowa need to worry about cyberattacks and cybersecurity? Why would we spend our city funds on something our citizens can’t even enjoy or see the benefits from? How do I know if an email is legit? This month on The Square we invite Cole Two Bears with ThinkGard to tackle these questions and more. We are certain that after hearing what Cole has to say your city will think twice about clicking on the link and find ways to make sure your city has what it takes to be safe with your city’s information. ThinkGard is a VC3 company that administers our Endorsed program, IT in a Box. You can find IT in a Box in the Exhibit Hall at our Annual Conference & Exhibit in Waterloo this September and they will also be presenting a conference workshop. Learn more about this endorsed program at www.vc3.com.

This might be called the "Fun Episode" as Parks and Rec Directors Matt Jermier with the City of Waukee and Nick Schenck with the City of Adel stopped by The Square for a great conversation. Both began their careers when the Parks & Recreation departments had just opened in their respective cities and they've been having fun ever since! Hear exactly what goes into running their department, the benefits of strong park and recreation services in a city and some great advice for those new to the industry. We then welcome Tyler Richard, FirstNet Solutions Consultant for Iowa. Tyler shares the benefits and history of FirstNet and the value it brings to all-sized cities across the state. To learn more about FirstNet, feel free to contact Tyler at tr2800@att.com.

This month we welcome Mayor Matt Walsh from Council Bluffs and Mayor Lorraine Borowski from Decorah. These two strong leaders share advice and wisdom from their combined 57 years of serving in some form of city government. Hear how they measure success, what it means to be “off the clock” as an elected official, and their favorite and least favorite things about their role as mayor. Mayor Walsh and Mayor Borowski both serve on the executive committee for the Iowa Mayor’s Association. We also hear from Max Elg, Vice President of Operations with Solutions, a Partner Program with the League. Max talks about his start as “Johnny Apple Seed” to working for Solutions and offers great tips for cities across the state in regards to their IT solutions.

This month’s episode features a conversation with the League’s governmental affairs team. Robert Palmer and Daniel Stalder share the importance of the interim months between legislative sessions and the foundation that happens during that time. We also hear an overview of the League’s Legislative Values and they discuss ways cities can become more involved with the legislative process and how their involvement can help shape the laws that are passed for their communities. The team also shares their favorite and least favorite things about the legislative session. We then join Maria Brownell, an attorney with Ahlers & Cooney, a Partner Program of the League. Maria shares her experience as a municipal attorney and a few tips cities can implement.

Happy holidays! We're joined this month by Lohrville Mayor, and new League President, Donny Hobbs. Mayor Hobbs shares his perspective on the importance of public services, some of the work the city and local volunteers have done in his community, and what they're hoping to achieve in the near future. He also provides some of the goals he has for his tenure as League President, highlighted by a push to boost civic participation in cities across the state. We also have a chat with Maggie Burger of Speer Financial, a League partner program that provides assistance to local governments in financial planning, debt management, tax increment financing, and more. With it being budget season, Maggie's timely guidance on the best financing tools for capital projects and other budgetary needs is a must-listen. The Square thanks all of its listeners and guests that have joined us in the past year and we wish everyone a safe and festive holiday season!

On this months episode we talked to a few of the award winners from our 2021 Annual Conference & Exhibit: Rhonda Wood Smith Award Winner: Holly Berg, Council Member, Ottumwa Hall of Fame Award Winner: John Lundell, Mayor, Coralville Hall of Fame Award Winner: Decker Ploehn, City Administrator, Bettendorf Each award winner offers great advice to newly elected, veterans and everyone in between. We finished up this month's interviews with Joe Heieck, president and CEO of gWorks who is one of our Community Alliance Partners. This episode is a bit long but well worth it!

The League's Annual Conference & Exhibit is quickly approaching and The Square is joined by Kelly Hayworth, Coralville City Administrator, as he discusses the great events that his community will host in September. Kelly shares some of the benefits of attending the Annual Conference, the fun spots around the Iowa River Landing that attendees can enjoy during their stay, and how the camping theme in the Exhibit Hall will create an unforgettable Camp Coralville. You can also hear about the latest developments around the Coralville community, which has truly been transformed during Kelly's tenure. We also chat with Travis Squires with Piper Sandler, one of the League's Community Alliance Partners, to hear more about the latest trends in municipal financing and tips for cities that are considering ways to finance projects and purchases. Head online to get more information about the 2021 Annual Conference & Exhibit, and as always, send your feedback to thesquare@iowaleague.org.

It may be summer but this fall’s regular city elections are right around the corner. This month we brought in Heidi Burhans with the Secretary of State’s Office who is a true expert in all thing’s elections. We discuss what cities need to do to prepare, the nomination process, what is required for someone to be eligible to be a candidate for elective office in Iowa, and much more. We then welcome Greg Broussard with Bolton & Menk, an engineering firm that works with clients all over the state and is a League Community Alliance Partner. Greg shares what projects we should be looking out for around the state. Send us what Mickey Shields will be doing this summer with his wife from this month’s episode and you could get a shout-out in an upcoming episode. Send any questions or comments to thesquare@iowaleague.org.

What's your favorite place to visit in Iowa? In this month's episode, we chat with Amy Zeigler, the State Tourism Manager at the Iowa Tourism Office, about the many great places around the state to visit this summer. And our hosts, Katie Wheeler and Mickey Shields, also share some of their favorite summer travel spots. Give it a listen and let us know your favorite places in Iowa! This month's episode also features a discussion with Dustin Leo of McClure Engineering who details some of the interesting projects the firm has helped cities with recently and what is on the horizon. Send in your questions, comments, and travel suggestions to thesquare@iowaleague.org!

Spring is in full bloom and cities across Iowa are gearing up for summer programs and projects. Part of the work includes nuisance abatement, which is usually not a fun part of municipal government but always a necessity. This month's episode of The Square features a lively discussion on city nuisance abatement efforts as we are joined by Clinton's Rich Foley and Tammy Johnson along with Pat O'Connell from the Lynch Dallas law firm (a Community Alliance Partner with the League). The group shares some of the work that has been done in Clinton to deal with nuisance property issues and help turn around derelict properties. Hear what a nuisance process looks like from a city zoning official's perspective and the various problems that can arise. We also chat about the legal concerns a city has when taking action on nuisance properties and staying the course to revitalize neighborhoods. Drop any questions or comments you have at thesquare@iowaleague.org. Enjoy the show!

A community's road infrastructure is critical to daily life and in this month's episode, we are joined by Travis Goedken, Humboldt City Administrator, who talks about what it's like to manage a city's street system. Travis details the importance of planning and prioritizing needs, the different types of streets that the city maintains, and the process to complete road projects. We are also joined by Derek Johnson of ISG, one of the League's Community Alliance Partners that provides engineering services to cities across Iowa and the midwest. Derek gives a look at what it's like from an engineering perspective to get public infrastructure projects done and also shares some of his background, which included serving as a city engineer. Send in your comments and questions to thesquare@iowaleague.org, enjoy the episode!

Welcome back! After a bit of a delay, The Square is rolling again as this month we chat with IMWCA's Safety and Risk Improvement Team. Dean Schade, Scott Smith, and Staci Griffin provide insights into working safely during an Iowa winter, pitfalls to avoid, and navigating the roads when winter weather hits. We are then joined by Jim Holz of MSA, an engineering and architectural design firm that works with cities all over the state and is a League Community Alliance Partner. Jim shares some tips on how cities can identify when infrastructure needs to be updated, prioritize community needs, and complete important projects. Thanks for listening to another episode and be sure to send any questions or comments to thesquare@iowaleague.org.

City budget season has arrived! The Square chats with Marion's Budget Manager, Zach Wolfe, to get his thoughts on how to prepare for the city budget and what leads to a successful process. As a city official that is relatively new to Iowa, Zach also shares his perspective of learning our state's property tax system, fund accounting and more. We are also joined by Nate Summers from DA Davidson, one of the League's partners that serves as a municipal advisor for cities as they go through capital projects. Nate discusses financing options available to cities, how to manage debt and keep the city budget in the best position to complete needed projects. We hope you enjoy this month's episode and as always, let us know your thoughts at thesquare@iowaleague.org.

Summer has ended, school has started and The Square is back with a new episode! We talk with Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart, who was recently elected as President of the League. Mayor Hart shares what led him to serving on the city council and as mayor, the unique position of being a full-time mayor (a rarity in Iowa) and some of the fun and challenges that come with the job. We also talk about Mayor Hart's plans for his League presidency and finding ways to enhance services and programs. We then chat with Kathryn Kunert of MidAmerican Energy and Joel Schmidt of Alliant Energy about the work each company did to restore power after the derecho storm that swept through the state in August. Kathryn and Joel talked about the importance of having strong partnerships with cities and how critical that is to storm recovery. The League thanks each of these partners for their incredible work in our communities to get power back to residents and businesses following such an unprecedented storm. We hope our listeners and communities are doing well, please contact thesquare@iowaleague.org with any questions or comments!

Summer is rolling along and we have another episode of The Square for your listening pleasure! This month we talk to Erin Mullenix, the League's Research Director, who provides a rundown on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on city finances. We discuss the various revenues that are projected to decline as well as expenditures that may be affected. Erin also shares findings from recent surveys of cities that measure the local financial impact of the pandemic. Erin was gracious enough to stick around for the Get to Know Your League segment, which is always a fun listen. We encourage cities to utilize resources we have available online to help respond to the pandemic, including our COVID-19 Finance Tool that can help gauge local impacts. Take care and join us next month for another episode!