Gunnar Olson learned a lot about life by writing about the dear departed. He began his newspaper career writing obituaries, and quickly noticed how interesting people’s journeys are. “Everyone has a story,” Olson said.

Later, as he turned to public relations work, he discovered a corollary: “Every organization has a story.”

“I really took pride to create stories with accuracy and interest and nuance,” Olson said. He also knew that his interactions with people would be important.

“It’s also about developing relationships, and trusting credible relationships. That took me a while to learn. But, ultimately, communication can lead to actions,” he said.

Olson made a seemingly smooth transition from a job as a reporter for The Des Moines Register to public affairs manager at the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART). In January, he shifted gears, so to speak, taking a similar job at the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), where he is communications manager. In both places, he kept a bicycle handy for transportation. He likes to ride for fun, too. As he continued his work in public relations, he learned some lessons. 

“You learn about the organization, a structure, and about being thoughtful of a beginning, middle and end of a story,” he said. “You become thoughtful about what you say at what time.”

Olson takes a fairly straightforward approach to those interactions. “It’s my natural disposition,” he said. 

He measures his words carefully, but remains good-humored even as he balances the interests of diverse local governments.

What results is a rewarding career in which he has watched DART and the MPO evolve. Both agencies are key players in development in downtown, and beyond.

“One of the things I like about Greater Des Moines in general is it’s not static,” Olson said. “It’s becoming better all the time.”

Reasons he’s a forty:

• He has served on the Water Works Foundation board and is involved in efforts to revamp Water Works Park.
• He was featured speaker at Urban Land Institute Iowa’s “Healthy People Healthy Places” conference.
• He handled many of the logistics for the opening of DART Central Station in 2012.
• He was a key player in the rollout of The Tomorrow Plan.