Four Leaders Share What Makes DSM the ‘Best of All Worlds’

Holmes Murphy, Krause Group, Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Greater Des Moines Partnership teamed up with global media brand, Monocle, to create a truly unique storytelling piece, featuring Iowa businesses, industries, and cultural endeavors. 

In this excerpt, leaders from these companies and organizations share what Greater Des Moines (DSM) and Iowa the ‘Best of All Worlds’.  

Read the full article here.  

Debi Durham 

Director, Iowa Economic Development Authority 

There’s a perception that Iowa is rural and conservative. Is it correct? 
This is a very rural state, no doubt about it. But if people come here, they will recognize how sophisticated Iowa is. We have a long history of embracing different cultures. Look at the caucuses: political candidates come to Iowa and want to be vetted by us because we keep it real. We do a great service to the nation because we can still have tough conversations.  

Where are the opportunities in Iowa? 
There’s a lot of entrepreneurial thinking, particularly in terms of research and development. In manufacturing, it’s about automation and digitalization; in biosciences, it is firms pushing the envelope to what’s next, and in finance and insurance, which are mature markets here, firms are seeing innovation and acceleration as the way to grow. 

Tiffany Tauscheck  

President & CEO, Greater Des Moines Partnership 

Why is Greater Des Moines growing so rapidly? 
People are moving to Greater Des Moines every day because it is and affordable and accessible region. There is a sense of community connection and involvement that is unprecedented, and a focus on fun, innovative placemaking. 

What does the region offer in terms of quality of life?  
There’s a lot of flexibility and opportunity. You can live the lifestyle you want here. Whether choosing to be in Downtown Des Moines, with its many restaurants and bars, living in the suburbs surrounded by local businesses and parks or having a hobby farm in the rural communities. You can get about anywhere within 20 minutes or less and we also have more than 1,200km of bike trails. There is also a major placemaking project under way that will allow you to go kayaking and whitewater rafting on our rivers. 

People at the Heart of Business 

“My motto is: love what you do and who you do it with,” says Dan Keough, Chairman & CEO of Holmes Murphy, who, by his own admission, does not spend a great deal of time sitting at a desk. Whether hosting town hall-style conversations with Holmes Murphy teams around the US or connecting face-to-face with new business overseas, he is always on the move.  

Interns still come to Keough in Waukee to ask him how they can be successful at Holmes Murphy. “We have a deeply collegial culture,” he says. Those customs and values are, he adds, an essential proposition to every employee, one that gets to the root of Holmes Murphy’s success and how the company competes and wins. “We have to attract the best and brightest people, be a convener of talent, and that means providing those people with the opportunity to grow.” 

Investing Locally 

For Krause Group, business is about creating opportunities to do good in the world. Headquartered in Iowa, this family-owned company is founded on a long-term vision to add value to the communities that it works in. 

Krause Group is rooted in local values. “We show up, we listen to those who are running our family of brands and we think about how we can bring competencies, capital and capabilities to existing and new business opportunities, enhancing their success while focusing on community betterment,” says Kyle J. Krause, founder and CEO of Krause Group.   

This commitment is demonstrated in the company’s headquarters and vision for a new stadium in DSM. 

“Lightness, simplicity and openness” was how Renzo Piano described the Krause Gateway Center. The Pritzker-prize winning architect completed Krause Group’s HQ in 2018. “It was also about creating fresh connections, interactions and collisions within the space,” says Krause. At the heart of the six-floor building is an art gallery with exhibitions curated from the family’s art collection. The roof garden, covered with native prairie grass, offers views over Pappajohn Sculpture Park and the Dico Superfund site that Krause Group hopes could someday become the home of a United Soccer League franchise. “The stadium gives us an opportunity to enhance the community,” he says. “To invest in a city that’s been good to us.”