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 [email protected].

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!