I'm a longtime community journalist and worked at print newspapers in Shenandoah, Adel and Fairfield before moving to the Des Moines area in 2001 to edit the Des Moines Business Record and related publications.

I joined the Great Ape Trust of Iowa communications department in 2007 because I knew it would be an adventure. I worked as a freelance writer and consultant after that position was eliminated in 2010, and joined Patch in September 2011.

Beliefs
Politics: I’m a registered independent. Generally, I’m more Democrat than Republican, particularly in federal and state elections where ideological differences separate candidates. At the local level – where the decisions of boards and councils have more effect on the quality of your life than the acts of Congress and legislatures – I will vote every time, regardless of party affiliation, for the individual with the best ideas to make our communities more livable.

In the spirit of self-disclosure, I was the communications director for Francis Thicke’s campaign for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture last year, not because he’s a Democrat, but because I thought he had bold ideas that should be part of the conversation.

Religion: I grew up attending the United Methodist Church in my small hometown in northwest Missouri. It was a great foundation that taught me most of what I believe is right and wrong. I believe in a supreme being. I respect others’ right to believe what they believe, as long as they’re not proselytizing on the taxpayer’s dime, and I think this whole business of seeing everyone who does good works as an angel or every marvelous outcome as a miracle cheapens both.

Local Hot Button Issues: West Des Moines is a great place to live, work and play, and Patch's coverage reflects that. We'll be focusing on small business issues important to folks like those in Valley Junction, entrepreneurship, schools, and sustainability and environmentalism.