Even though I have called Eastern Iowa home for many years, my roots are in the Western half of the state. I was born and raised in Carroll, Iowa, and I spent my summers growing up visiting family in the Iowa Great Lakes. Both sets of my grandparents had homes on the East shore of Spirit Lake, and both sides of my family have ancestors in Dickinson and Emmet Counties going back multiple generations. My parents met at Spirit Lake, and although I did not attend school there, it has always felt like home. 

In fact, there is a direct through line between my experiences as a kid spending summers at the lake and my work as IEC Water Program Director. I learned at a young age the fun of spending long sunny days outdoors on the water. When I was in college taking field classes at Iowa Lakeside Lab and catching frogs as an intern for Barbara Tagami and the fledgling Dickinson County Nature Center, I learned about the area’s vital ecosystems and how to protect them. In my current role, I am taking this background with me across the state and up to the Capitol as we advocate for policies and regulations that protect water quality, promote outdoor recreation, and preserve cherished spaces for future generations. 

I received an invitation to speak on a water quality panel at the Blue Water Festival in Okoboji on August 7. My fellow panelists were Dr. Larry Weber from the University of Iowa, Nathan Anderson of Practical Farmers of Iowa, and Adam Schnieders of the Iowa DNR. We discussed topics important to the area, including local conservation efforts to preserve the lakes and the importance of tourism to Okoboji’s economy. We also covered statewide topics, like whether the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is effective at tackling nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from agricultural operations (spoiler: it is not), and whether we can build momentum to fund the Trust.