NW Iowa trip

Have I mentioned lately how I love my job? Yeah, sometimes I forget. Days like Tuesday remind me why I enjoy doing what I do - helping cities and counties with solid waste/recycling. I traveled to NW Iowa with my peers Jim and Scott for some site visits. Those two nuts are fun to travel with - they might not think the same about me after our 14 hour day together...

This cute corn was outside City Hall at Rockwell City - our first stop

Scott heads up a program called the Derelict Building Grant Program. Communities up to 5,000 people can apply for grant funding to assess asbestos in old buildings and to ultimately cost share in deconstructing them. They get a larger cost share the more they recycle! It's a great program thats popularity has far out outweighed the amount of funds available.

Scott has been with the department for a year and a half. He is in his early 30's and is funny and sarcastic with a really dry wit - I guess that's why we get along.

Jim is in charge of the Solid Waste Alternatives Grant Program (SWAP), which funds waste diversion projects across the state. Exciting, no? Okay - like derelict building it's not science or brain surgery. Some of the fees paid for each ton of trash landfilled in Iowa goes toward the SWAP program. Keep that in mind the next you wheel your trash cart down the driveway. Jim has worked at DNR over ten years after an earlier career in printing. He's one of the nicest people I've ever met, a real sweetie who laughs at my jokes. Jim suffered from a serious blood illness a few years ago but he's totally healthy now. I think he's starting to think about retirement, but is a year or two away yet.

An old drugstore demolished on mainstreet Rockwell City

Jim on right in orange, Scott holding notebook

Tuesday we were on a mission to visit a few sites that Scott and Jim set up. First we were at Rockwell City, where they were in the midst of a demolition project already. In fact, the contractor  actually teaches a class at Central Community College in Fort Dodge about how to dismantle such buildings. The trick is to gleaning the good stuff like good wood, and bricks which can be worth as much as $.25-$.35 each. Cash like that can help pay for the project! Towns are happy to remove the scary, falling down dilapidated properties. Some replace the eyesores with greenspace, others hope to be able to be able to re-sell the property for a new building.

Both Trash AND Treasures

The courthouse has a beautiful tile roof - gorgeous building

The Rockwell City Clerk is in charge of the paperwork for the grant, so Scott took some time to talk it over with her. During that time, I walked around a bit and took a couple photos (I talked Jim into talking my pic with the corn...see - he's real nice).  I took the opportunity to explain what I do to the clerk, and give her my card - always good to schmooze when one can...

Next we headed to Ida Grove to talk to the City Clerk there about our programs. We met at the Family Table Restaurant. That city was just awarded a Derelict Building Grant. After dining on a tasty Breaded Loin, and checking out a cool sledding hill complete with rope tow, we headed downtown to see the building set to come down. It's the Baxter Hotel (kinda like the Bates Hotel...) - which on the surface, doesn't look too bad. But it's heading downhill fast.

It looks worse from the back - guess it's been abandoned since 2004

Next we were off to our last stop - LeMars where we were meeting about 20 residents of Plymouth County about their solid waste/recycling system. We stopped at their landfill on the way in to town - I'm such a landfill groupie ya know. This one has done a great job recycling things like shingles, wood, metal - saving landfill space. Plus they can sell the shingles!

When we got into town, we lucked into cake at a store celebrating their 4th anniversary. The meeting was interesting. And hot and stuffy. The peeps are quite enthusiastic about recycling. We answered questions - after all - they're our poster children for success and we want that to continue!

After the meeting we walked down the block to the taj mahal of ice cream - the Well Blue Bunny Palace, completed just a year ago. I had a scoop of praline pecan. It wasn't quite this big. But almost...thus my in NW Iowa trip ended with me consuming a week's worth of calories. It was a good trip. Got back to DSM at 9 p.m. Long day!

the money cone - by the bank

My sis Betsy reported that my sis Cindy survived her partial knee replacement surgery. Today Cindo says she started physical therapy. Hope recovery continues on a good path. Her hubbie Bold finishes up radiation soon. ;>)