Merry Christmas
12/4/2024Twelve drummers drumming…
…To the anonymous person who is giving $250,000 to match dollar-for-dollar contributions to help the Des Moines Area Religious Council feed the needy this Christmas-time. And to Matt Unger, who runs that oh-so-important operation…and to the not-anonymous donors who helped Drake exceed by $40 million its three-year fund-raising goal of $225 million…and the young people who put some of their after-school earnings into the Christmas collections plates or Salvation Army buckets…or who shovel the walks of their elderly neighbors just because it’s the nice thing to do…
Eleven pipers piping…
…for Dan Houston — and is there a nicer man in town? — who is stepping down after running Principal for almost 10 years and while leading many community projects…and to Deanna Strable, a native of tiny Prole, Iowa, who will succeed him…and for Kevin Foley, who brought so much new air service to Des Moines that the city has to build a new airport, and to Brian Mulcahy, who will take over as executive director of the airport…
Ten lords a-leaping…
…for the little-known football players at Grand View and Drake, who took their teams to league championships while everyone was watching Iowa State and Iowa…and to Bob Nizzi, who coached football at Dowling for more than 20 years but who is known these days as the grandfather of Caitlin Clark…and to Caitlin Clark too, of course…and to Jan Jensen, new women’s coach at Iowa and Lisa Bluder, the legend Jensen worked with and now is following…
Nine ladies dancing…
…for Julie Gammack, collector of podcasters…and Dave Busiek, whose podcasts on the media always make sense…and former Register newsman Arnie Garson, whose leg was broken as a youth by serial killer Charlie Starkweather (and who can drop a more startling line into a podcast than that?). And if you don’t know about Charlie Starkweather, ask your grandpa…and the hard-working Laura Belin, still the best political reporter in the state and how does she find the time to do it?…
Eight maids a-milking …
…for new Regent Chris Hensley and outgoing Regents chair Mike Richards…and Regents presidents Wendy Wintersteen at Iowa State, Barbara Wilson at Iowa and Mark Nook at UNI — all smart enough to stay out of the news…for new Polk County supervisors Jill Altringer and Mark Holm — and good luck bringing peace to that board…and the wonderful Ann Selzer, who called it as she saw it…
Seven swans a-swimming…
…for Des Moines communications boss Debbie McClung and her husband, Tim, at the DOT…and their part-time dog, Tommy…for whoever cooks the ribs at the Fire Creek Grill…for Iowa wrestler and Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee…and fellow Hawkeye and bronze medalist Brittany Brown, too…for Katie Miller, very efficient and very nice…
Six geese a-laying…
…for Scott Sailor, Science Center rocket engineer whose favorite vowel is “sometimes y.”…and city forester Shane McQuillan, a new citizen…for twins Hayes and Harris Halderson, awaiting their first Christmas…for everyone named Gartner — especially Zachary and Theo and Christopher and Maggie…and Barbara, too…for Valley Tigers grad and now Detroit Lions social media guy Hugo Bolanos and former sportswriters Rick Brown and Val Monson…
Five golden rings….
…for the soon-to-be-married Clayton Grandquist and Taylor Mae Diehl…author Ruth Harkin…Drake basketball Superfan Dixie Byers…for KCCI chief weatherman Chris Gloninger, who quit because of, among other things, “a death threat stemming from my climate coverage”…for Randy Evans, new member of the State Open Government Hall of Fame, and nobody deserves it more…
Four colly birds…
…for the new boss at Broadlawns, Proctor Lureman, and all the nice people at the Broadlawns clinic in Cityville…and new Drake Law dean Roscoe Jones…and Angela Franklin, whose new Des Moines University campus in West Des Moines is stunning…for Janis Ruan, who gives money and ideas and time to make the roads and parks of Des Moines bloom and blossom…
Three French hens…
…for super-grandma Mary Bernabe…the McCaughey septuplets, who turned 27 in November, and now are raising families of their own…Iowa State basketball star Audi Crooks of Algona, who made the All-Big 12 team in her freshman year…for Shane and Jolene Goodman, who have built a solid enterprise…and Brian Weber of Interstate Battery — and his brother Al…
Two turtle doves…
…for the Heuer family — Tom, Nancy, Dylan, Ursula and Ben — who do so much for the deaf kids of Iowa…for John Meyer of the Iowa Wolves, Arthur Braden of the Iowa Wild and Cody Crawford of the Des Moines Bucs — and will the Bucs ever find a permanent home?…for Ben Kieffer of Iowa Public Radio…and Charity Nebbe, too…
And a partridge in a pear tree…
…in memory of John Pat Dorian, a good mayor, a good guy and a good story-teller…Bill Northey, the state agriculture secretary who put Iowa and service above partisan politics…John Pappajohn, a poor boy who made a lot of money and gave a lot away…auto dealers and good citizens Chuck Betts and Karl Moyer…90-year-old Clark Rasmussen, who outlived his fame as a gubernatorial candidate and legislator but in later years could be found hanging around a bicycle shop…Jim Tyler, who at 99 still loved Coke and the bottling company he built up…Claude Freeman, who came to town as a baseball player, met a girl and stayed to become a leading lawyer…Lanny Sharp, who always grilled your steak just right at the Embers…Brook Smith, who presided over El Patio restaurant for nearly 50 years…the super-successful Doug Reichardt, who always seemed to be smiling…Mingo Bill Gannon, legislator and farmer…the generous Kay Bucksbaum…and the creative Rosalie Gallagher…Paula Duncan and Rick Neumann and Mike Carroll and Jon Batesole and Bill Friedman and Rob Dillard…
…and, always, the first Christopher. ♦
Michael Gartner was born and raised in Des Moines. He is 86 years old. Along the way, he has been a top editor at The Wall Street Journal, editor and president of The Des Moines Register, president of NBC News, and majority owner of the Iowa Cubs. In 1997 he won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing while at the Ames Tribune, where he was editor and co-owner.
