Nonprofit salaries. ER visits. Binge drinking. Plastic surgery. And stressful drives.

It’s November, and that means it’s time to look up the highest earners from nonprofits in Iowa. We gathered data on the highest-grossing nonprofits according to data from their 990 tax forms, which are accessible at candid.org.

Prairie Meadows, the nonprofit casino, brought in total revenue of $2,532,959,229 in fiscal year 2024. President and CEO Gary Palmer had the highest reported compensation on our list at $1,819,142, thanks in large part to the many charitable donations by gamblers. Prairie Meadows’ next-highest earner was executive vice president Michele Wilkie, who reported a compensation of $585,561. 

The Central Iowa Hospital Corporation, otherwise known as Unity Point Health, was next on the list. Their reported total revenue was $1,357,287,455 for 2024. Three employees reportedly made seven-figure incomes from the organization, all physicians. They were John Triantafyllos at $1,059,082, Samuel Schroeder at $1,045,055 and Arshin Sheybani at $1,029,133. Each works in radiation oncology. The highest-earning executive was board secretary and market president Jon Rozenfeld, who made $536,925. 

Catholic Health Initiatives, aka Mercy Medical Center, was also in the billion-dollar range at $1,048,590,516 in total revenue for 2024. The highest earner was director and CEO, Robert Ritz, who made a reported $2,416,873. This was $300,000 more than he earned the previous year. Former officer Michael Wegner earned a reported $1,198,272. The third-highest earner was Hijinio Carreon, listed as a former key employee and CCO, who made $1,091,878. The highest-earning employee was cardiologist Atul Chawla, who was paid $923,293. 

Iowa Health System is next on our list at $442,361,665 in total revenue in 2024. Strategy officer and senior vice president Daniel Carpenter made $2,199,214, the second-highest on our list. Scott Kizer, board secretary, made $1,996,308. Clay Holderman, who was our highest earner for 2023, made $1,523,135. He is listed as the former president and CEO. 

For strictly Des Moines-based nonprofits that were not healthcare- or casino-related, the next organization on our list is Drake University. The revenue was listed at $256,277,389. Although a private university, because of its federal tax-exempt status, its 990 form from 2024 is available. The Bulldogs’ president, Earl Martin, had the highest reported earnings at $655,175. For comparison, Grand View’s president, Rachelle Keck, earned a listed $357,887 in 2024.

The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines is the last nonprofit we looked at. The total revenue for 2024 was listed as $160,775,314, and the total giving was listed at $84,964,702. President Kristine Knous was the highest earner at $366,599.

The highest individual earner in the entire state was Chong C Lee, a physician at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, whose compensation was listed at $3,310,068. …

A study by Roofing SEO Services, which analyzed the latest data on timely and effective care from the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, listed Iowa as having the seventh-fastest ER stays with a 3% walkout rate. On average, patients spent two hours and 10 minutes at emergency rooms in Iowa. That 3% walkout rate is still higher than the national average of 2.2%. …

We’re No. 1, but you might want to hold off on the celebration. A study by Valley Spring Recovery Center looked at data on which states had the highest levels of binge drinking between 2011 and 2023. The study examined the age-adjusted binge drinking rates across all states. Iowans binge-drank (loosely described as five or more drinks for men or four or more for women in a two-hour span) at a 22.5% rate, taking the crown. North Dakota came in second. …

American novelist Jack Kerouac famously wrote, “The prettiest girls in the world live in Des Moines.” This saying may also now be backed by the Breast Reduction Surgeons of Long Island, who conducted a study on which states have the lowest interest in cosmetic surgery. In the findings, Iowa ranked third for least interested. The data involved 336 average monthly searches per 100,000 residents, or 10,773 total average searches for cosmetic procedure-related keywords across the 3.2 million population of the state. To put things in perspective, the two states listed ahead of Iowa for least interested were West Virginia and Mississippi. …

Ever wonder where the worst place to have your vehicle break down is in the metro? According to a poll by Cherry Data Signals, the answer is the I-35/I-80/I-235 interchange in Des Moines. The Southwest Mixmaster rebuild is currently in the works to mitigate some of the stress caused by this 1960s-era crossing, but in an area with so many motorists merging all at once, you better start praying if your car starts to break down in this section of Iowa’s roadways. …

The Des Moines Arts Festival might need to build a bigger trophy cabinet. The festival earned 20 awards from the International Festivals and Events Association. DMAF Executive Director Stephen King was inducted into the IFEA’s Hall of Fame. Some of their gold honors were Best Educational Program, Best Event Website, Facebook and Instagram, and Best Overall Entertainment Program. ♦