The 1990s in County Extension work
What happened around us in the 1990s to shape our world? The World Wide Web and eBay were founded, the
Internet saw huge growth, and the Y2K bug was feared especially the last half of the decade. We won’t forget
Waco TX, Oklahoma City bombing, or Columbine. Rollerblades, pogs, light-up sneakers, flannel shirts, and video
games were popular. Remember Operation Desert Shield/Storm, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and President
Clinton impeachment.
New Directions with New Extension Leader
When Robert Anderson was hired as vice provost of Iowa State University’s Extension Service August 1990, he
brought changes that more closely tied county Extension offices to each other and to the campus. With his
background in business, Anderson brought a new way of looking at Extension work. His ‘path to excellence’ was
client-centered and he challenged staff to satisfy clients and exceed their expectations. He was the first (and
only) state Extension leader to visit every county Extension office within his first year to meet the staff and local
citizens.
By the mid-90s every county extension office was connected to each other and to campus via fax machines, the
Internet and had capability for satellite downlinks. Many programs were now downlinked via satellite to the
local offices.
A change in the Iowa law brought about a major change to Extension Council organization in 1991 when
Extension Council members were elected by the general election ballot for the first time ever. The law created
nine-member Extension Councils in each county to serve four year terms. No longer would they be elected as
one per township as they had been since 1955.
The first nine elected under the new law were: Carol Brandt, Sandy Breder, Todd Heckenberg, Dan Keitzer,
William Kuehn, Tom Kuntz, Roberta Pfadenhauer, Charles Pilling and Jane Wilson. Recently the November 2014
election resulted in five Council members being elected: Brenda Wischmeier, Dean VanNess, Danny Beckman,
John Dockendorff and Barbara Kerr. The four continuing are Janine Clover, Tara Abel, Ben Heckart and Judith
Licko. In 1999 Jane Wilson (Richard), Danville, received the Distinguished Extension Council Member Service
Award as an 11 year active member of the county Extension Council.
Innovative programs piloted in Des Moines County
The Future Schools 2000 project was piloted in Danville by Community Development specialist Tom Quinn and
county Extension staff in 1991. A Danville school steering committee developed a mission statement, formed
short term and long term project committees, and created an action plan for their school. More than 200
surveys were reviewed by volunteers.
An article in the Hawk Eye reported the long range vision of the community included a computer on every desk
at the Danville Community School, a small business incubator, an air-conditioned school. They discussed yearround school, adult education, and life skills courses in personal finance or tax preparation. Eventually they
shortened their list to a few elements: “a community and school nurse, enhanced respect for teachers and
students, courses in life skills, classes for adults, and a small business incubator.
A unique partnership with McDonalds and Extension for parent education was carried out in 1992. The home
economist adapted a dozen parenting tip cards from Ohio Extension to be printed and used to offer quick and
easy parent-child activities. Tom Cain, owner of two restaurants in Burlington and one in Ft Madison, printed
and distributed 7000 cards Take-a-Break Cards monthly in Happy Meals. Cards were also distributed to families
at WIC and at library Story Hour.
Building Family Strengths was an eight-week pilot project for parents based on the concept that if you are too
busy to spend time with your family, you are too busy. The series was co-sponsored with Young House Family
Services and Southeastern Community College. Family Mealtime lessons co-authored by Extension field
specialists serving the county were piloted here and later used across the state.
Earthworms, deer ticks and beetles
The Model Farm Demonstration Project was established at the SE Iowa Research farm to research issues related
to tillage. Involving Des Moines, Louisa and Washington counties, many field days and demonstrations were
held including crop scouting, black cutworm and corn rootworm beetle monitoring, and weed control.
Burlington Medical Center and ISU Extension also held a meeting to identify deer ticks and learn about Lyme
disease.
The sustainable agriculture movement encouraged farmers to investigate new alternatives. One method tested
by Agriculturist Jim Jensen researched whether elevated populations of earthworms in soil would increase the
water infiltration rate of the soil thereby reducing the amount of water runoff during heavy rains. Results
suggested that worms did help increase soil infiltration though further research is needed to determine how to
increase earthworm population and whether it will help increase yields.
Train the trainers
Training trainers is a primary extension principle – whether it’s a Master Gardener, a 4-H Leader or Volunteer
Financial Counselor. Training those who then teach others provides a multiplier effect. Many groups look to
Extension staff to provide research-based in-service training on a variety of subjects. In the early 1990s,
volunteers were trained in Family Community Leadership, Gardening, Financial Counseling, and Food Shopping.
Funding was provided by the Iowa Beef Industry Council to develop an innovative curriculum and train nine
Master Volunteer Food Shoppers.
A Leadership Development Program, conducted by county and area Extension staff members, involved two
dozen citizens wanting to develop leadership and communication skills, ending the nine-week course with a visit
to the Iowa Legislature.
Swine malady
Often local problems are handed off to ISU Campus specialists for advice and research. Producers were put in
touch with state ISU Extension specialists when “…an unidentified swine malady struck Des Moines County
farms with a fierceness seldom seen in the hog business. Area farmers were reporting 85-100% losses of their
baby pigs.”
Population shifts from rural to urban living areas combined with changes in types of jobs resulted in fewer
people aware of the role agriculture plays in supplying the necessities of daily living. To increase the awareness
of agriculture’s role in the food and fiber system, a display was developed, funded by local businesses and
organizations and installed at the welcome center in downtown Burlington.
Weather is always a concern. Three years of drought in the late eighties brought concerns about adequacy of
rural water as well as meetings on irrigation start-up and management. Torrential rains in 1993 raised concerns
about flooding and many families moved out of their homes and off the farms that summer. Extension staff
were heavily involved in assisting families with financial and stress management, dealing with aftermath of
flooding whether in town or country. At the 1993 county fair, 4-H members who were unable to complete their
projects due to relocation or flooded gardens were able to visit with judges about their project instead of
bringing it to the fair.
Home and family programs
Extension staff supported families facing loss and change with resources during Operation Desert Shield in 1990.
Other programs for home and family included child care as a business, support for the elderly and their
caregivers, heart healthy eating, and money management. Home study courses, newsletters, satellite programs,
workshops were methods commonly used, often in a series for sequential learning.
Four Home Economics Advisory committee members were honored at ISU for their work with the Modest Home
Makeover program - Bill Gerdes Sr, Burlington; Dana Hillyard, Mediapolis; and Ray Montgomery and Brenda
Grinstead, Danville.
Changes, changes – and the end of an era
A major reorganization and staff downsizing occurred effective of Oct 1, 1992 across the state. Instead of a
county agriculturist, county home economist, and county 4-H & Youth Leader, there would be just two positions
– a field specialist covering one subject matter and multiple counties and a county extension education director
covering one county as an administrator and responsible for planning and coordinating programs in all subject
areas. This resulted in more specialists serving each county but with an office in another county and more multicounty and regional events. It caused great upheaval in the lives of Extension staff as many had to relocate
homes and families or be re-trained for a different position.
Sandra Scholl became the first County Extension Education Director for Des Moines County under the new
system. Each county housed field specialists who worked multiple counties. In Des Moines County, field
specialists in farm management (Harry Tucker) and nutrition and health (Patty Steiner) maintained offices here.
Jim Jensen, crops specialist, relocated to Henry County. Without staff dedicated to one county, annual narrative
reports were no longer written so historical records are very limited after 1992.
In 1993, Don Buzzingham was hired when Scholl accepted another position. A toll free number was added for
the benefit of the public outside of Burlington. The number - 800-914-1914 – was chosen as a reflection of the
1914 beginning of the Extension Service.
A 1996 grant from the John H Witte Jr Foundation was used to purchase ten laptop computers for an
Internet/Computer Literacy lab at the Des Moines County office. The lab provided public internet education to
teachers, public officials, business leaders, other adults as well as youth. This innovative concept was beneficial
to adults and youth alike as they learned to access and evaluate reliable websites.
Family Nutrition Program Re-launched
The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program that ended in 1981 was given new life when it was
launched again in 1996. Now called the Family Nutrition Program (FNP), funding was provided to hire one Family
Nutrition Program Assistant. Judith Licko was hired in 1996 and continued in that position for more than 15
years. Poverty Simulation workshops were held throughout the state to help professionals, service providers
and general public better understand the stresses and difficulties facing low-income youth and family. Several
were conducted in Burlington in the latter part of the decade. .
4-H activities continue
Even with staff changes and extension reorganization, 4-H activities continued through the active service of
dedicated volunteers and 4-H members and families. Janet Fitzgibbon was hired as county program assistant in
1993 to assist with 4-H programs. 4-H activities such as day camps, county fair, awards night, and workshops
went on from year to year. Along with county-wide activities such as grooming workshops for beef and dairy,
horse and dog sessions, and science day camps, more opportunities were offered on a multi-county and area
basis. New project clubs were started in Photography and Rabbits and a 4-H Photography Traveling Display of
outstanding photos was hosted in various locations throughout the county such as banks, museums and
businesses. The Unity H 4-H club celebrated 30 years as a club in 1991. Mary Laue organized the club in 1961
and served all 30 years as leader.
Office staff serving the county this decade included Arlene Weissinger (who retired July 1991 after nearly 25
years as office assistant), Joyce Lovely, Lois Brinkman and then Joyce Johnson, the last half of the decade.
Summer assistants in the early 1990s included ISU Ag intern Neil Knobloch, summer 4-H aides Michelle Kelley,
Jana Massner, Jennifer Gerdom and April Boatman. ####