We spent the day in Storm Lake today. The temperature was in the high eighties and the sun was out all day. We were able to spend time outside in between our two scheduled meetings. Our hotel was lakeside, so I sat by the water and caught up on some non-Iowa work I had to do.
Our meetings were both with people who hold positions in Storm Lake. First was Mark Prosser who is the director of Storm Lake Public Safety and Chief of Police of Storm Lake. In the evening we met with Councilor Jose Ibarra, who is the first Latino on Storm Lake City Council. In Storm Lake there are 24 languages spoken in schools, and 30 languages spoken among adults. There are people from all over the world that have ended up in Storm Lake to work and now to settle down and grow families. Most of the immigrants worked in the Tyson plants that are located in Storm Lake. Many have since gained citizenship and started their own business or moved up to other jobs. I think Storm Lake is amazing and full of culture. While other towns in Iowa have had declining populations and mass migrations to urban areas, Storm Lake is growing, and people here are happy.
Chief Prosser is retiring this year after serving for almost 45 years in law enforcement, 30 in Storm Lake. He comes from a family with two parents that were missionaries and he is an ordained Deacon in the Catholic Church. I think his religious background and upbringing has a lot to do with how accepting he is of every citizen in Storm Lake. I loved his philosophy, and I hope that the Storm Lake story and method spreads and catches on to other places that have diverse populations. Prosser and his team have taken steps to make immigrants feel like its police force is there to protect and help them. He has done a really good job of finding ways to break through some tough cultural barriers and bring people together and out of hiding.
Jose Ibarra is a Verizon employee full time and also serves on Storm Lake city council. Our meeting with him was a very casual conversation. I think this is part of what made him such a good option to be the first Latino on the council. He was very humble saying that “If I can do it, anyone can”. He wants most to get more immigrants to participate. Jose used the perfect amount of humor and seriousness that I think would do a really good job of making people feel comfortable. We discussed his position on a lot of political debates and I think he falls in line with exactly what one would expect. He also shares a lot of similarities with Chief Prosser. I think that both the men we met today are doing amazing things that are benefiting a lot of people.
Tomorrow we meet Art Cullen, the author of Storm Lake. It’s a big day and we are all really excited. Adare wants him to bless her journalism career.