The Greater Des Moines Partnership’s 45th annual DMDC policy trip in May to Washington, D.C. saw one of the largest delegations from Central Iowa, with more than 200 people attending, in the three-day event’s history.

This was my first year on the trip both representing Business Publications Corp. as a member of the delegation and as a reporter covering the Partnership’s policy moves to give our audience on-the-ground accounts of how the delegation operates as it represents the economic development interests of Central Iowa. 

The 200-plus business and community leaders were in Washington to further progress on the Partnership’s 2024 federal policy agenda, which includes closing the funding gap to expand Des Moines International Airport; designating U.S. Highway 65 as an interstate; economic development in the city of Perry; housing; child care and immigration as workforce development tools. 

Throughout the three days, the delegation heard from USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Basil Gooden; retired NBC News journalist and incoming Central College Executive-in-Residence Harry Smith; Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.; a U.S. Chamber of Commerce official; and Iowa’s elected U.S. Congressional delegation. 

The Partnership puts policy change as the long-term objective for the trip, but the near-term emphasis is using the trip as a catalyst for connecting and networking between Central Iowa leaders across sectors. 

The following are the key takeaways from nine local leaders and DMDC attendees gathered through interviews conducted May 8-10 in Washington, D.C.

The following comments were lightly edited for clarity and brevity: 

Joseph Jones: Chief of staff, president’s office, Des Moines University

This is the first (DMDC) trip that I’ve been on since I’ve been in this role. It’s been really great to connect with individuals who work in the health care space and some in higher ed. And those [folks] haven’t been my daily reports, so it’s nice to meet those people in person now and start to talk about the issues from that angle. I’m always impressed with the legislative and congressional staff. Being biased, I’m a former staffer. But it’s really nice to know that our delegation has staff that are so dedicated that they know the issues, and understand where we come from and what stance we’re taking on different issues, and so you know you can automatically just jump into a conversation with folks who get it. 

Eric Klein: City council member, Clive:

It’s a great opportunity to not only network with my fellow elected officials and staff members of Congress but certainly to discuss some of the issues with Clive, specifically both stormwater management and also the new [Interstate] 80/35 [interchange at] Hickman Road. These are key projects for not only Clive but also Waukee, Urbandale, West Des Moines, Grimes and all the western suburbs. It’s key to work with our fellow, our fellow elected officials [and] our fellow business people out here to push these initiatives to help move forward the growth of the west side of Des Moines.

One of the key things is some of the community project funding. We’ve worked specifically with Congressman [Zach ] Nunn’s office. This [80/35 interchange] is a large project, right? So you’re putting together funding sources from not only the federal … but the state, local, there’s [U.S. Department of Transportation] RAISE grants, and of course. The cities of Clive and Urbandale are both inputting money with this, too. It’s a $110 million project. It’s a big project. 

… It’s important to understand that we need to bring that federal money back to Central Iowa.

Marisa Morris: Government relations coordinator, Dentons Davis Brown:

This is my second time on the trip. And I’ve noticed [the Partnership] keeps the right things consistent in this trip. Being able to have access to our congressional delegation like this I think is a testament to the Partnership’s impact but also to our delegation for being so available. But then they also make changes and keep it fresh and new. And I have just found that as a professional, I love Des Moines and I always talk about how much I love Des Moines, and even still after living and working in Des Moines for years, I’m constantly more and more impressed with Des Moines. The Des Moines area just constantly surprises me even though I feel like I have a really good idea of what I like about it. Being in D.C. [with the delegation] there’s so much to do. There are so many topics and so much work to be done. But I think that the people in this room and on this trip bring that collaboration instead of fighting and elbowing for their priorities to be at the top. We kind of have this united voice. I mentioned earlier how being a part of that policy development process and getting to have a say in seeing the federal policy agenda gets created, it’s really neat to come full circle.

Meredith Murphy: Talent attraction manager, West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce:

I think from a policy standpoint, it’s been wonderful to learn more about the legislators’ priorities going into the next few months, knowing that it’s an election year. And coming from a chamber of commerce perspective, I think that small business support is really key right now. I’ve loved learning more about the Partnership’s policy goals and how they really advocate for the region as a whole. And I think that as an affiliate chamber, I really appreciate all the work we do and I love learning more about that on this trip. 

I think the biggest takeaway for me is these connections that we make on this trip really can make an impact when we get back to Central Iowa, whether that’s the West Des Moines Chamber collaborating with the Greater Des Moines Partnership, the Greater Des Moines Partnership collaborating throughout the Central Iowa region, and then I think specifically for West Moines with our new Civic Connect Committee that we’re kind of formulating right now, connecting with these legislators is really important for going forward. We’ve got a large membership base in West Des Moines and the entire Central Iowa region that I really want to make sure they’re advocating as well. So, really encouraging people to reach out to organizations like the Partnership and these legislators is probably the biggest thing I’ll bring back.

Toby O’Berry: Executive director, Polk County Housing Trust Fund

I think I’m really excited that within the Partnership housing is now one of the main priorities and issues. That gives me hope that we’re weaving housing into our greater advocacy and conversation within the Partnership. This is my first trip and I was very excited about the congressional communication, but now I’m just as excited about the networking with the other 200 people that are on the trip and the excitement I get from having those conversations around housing with other community leaders that maybe I hadn’t met before. So I think [on] the Partnership DMDC trip, there’s as much benefit talking with the congressional delegates as well as the folks that are on the trip.

We had a small, what they call fireside chat with [the Brookings Institution Senior Fellow] Jenny Schuetz yesterday, which was very good. And that’s started conversations with folks and me wanting to do more or understand more about housing, looking at the vacancy rate in different communities and understanding that dynamic. And so I think just having breakout sessions and conversations is spearheading future dialogue and dynamics as we all go back to Iowa.

Jimmy Olsen : Executive director, Des Moines Downtown Chamber of Commerce:

I had a great conversation just out of the blue at the reception last night and a prior conversation at the Dubliner [D.C. Irish pub] running it to [U.S. Rep.] Zack Nunn. I was able to have more of a one-on-one with him and his staff. I’m still learning, [this is] my first year, so I’m trying to figure out all the ins and outs. It is a lot of fun and a little hot this year. [I spoke with Nunn] mainly [about] downtown stuff, with City Hall moving to the old Nationwide building, kind of what the plan is, which they’ve got some great plans already with selling the [city-owned administration] buildings. … I know Zack was talking about how he’d love them to stay in public hands kind of like with the armory [building] where they’re going to [repurpose] that with [Des Moines] Performing Arts. … I’m just interested to see where we’ll continue that conversation and where it goes once we get back to Des Moines. 

Ian Roberts: Superintendent, Des Moines Public Schools:

My experience certainly has been viewed through a myopic lens and that is I’m wondering what will this trip mean for Des Moines Public Schools and every other public school system out of the 328 in the state of Iowa. And one big takeaway comes from the panel discussion we heard this morning [with Iowa’s Congressional delegation]. And that’s essentially around two things. One, what role will Des Moines Public Schools play in making sure that we are preparing students, not only for college, but for careers in terms of supporting and supplying the workforce around farming and agriculture, and I believe that with our Central Campus, we will play a critical role. Secondly, the discussion from our senators and congressional representatives this morning around our immigration laws. I think it’s important for us to acknowledge that we are fastly becoming one of the most diverse states, certainly in Central Iowa, in terms of our school systems, and we have to make sure that we are creating opportunities to welcome all of our immigrant parents or immigrant children, because they are truly adding value to the work we do, not only in education but in our agricultural sector. 

Christopher Shires: Vice president and principal, Confluence 

I’m just re-reminded what a great metro organization the Greater Des Moines Partnership is as well as how important it is for us to work together – all these different governmental agencies, all these different private organizations, that really we’re one metro, we’re one community, and together we’re so much stronger and better. So I’ve been really excited to continue to see these relationships between cities and jurisdictions. And another big key takeaway has reinforced how critical housing, the conversation on housing, is right now, not just in Central Iowa but across the country. But we as a region really need to be stepping up and thinking how do we solve our current and pending housing crisis.

Ryan Smith: Executive director, Iowa Wildlife Federation:

This is my second time on this trip, and for me, the biggest thing that I’ve been able to do is reconnect with some people and meet some new people, which is great. It is exciting to learn about the other businesses in Des Moines, and the nice thing for me, given my conservation work, is how many people are interested in conservation and how they can apply it at their business or at their home or whatever the connection is. Everyone seems to like nature, which is fantastic.