Working‑Class Values.
Honest Leadership.

Growing up in Cedar Falls, I learned the importance of labor and grit from my father, a proud union member at Viking Pump. I carried those lessons into my first jobs, delivering the local Courier at 12 and working at McDonald’s by 16. During the mid-seventies, I helped lead a unionization drive at that restaurant; while we didn't prevail against corporate interests, the experience instilled in me a lasting sense of resilience.

 

After graduating from Cedar Falls High in 1976, I dedicated four years to STEM studies at UNI while climbing the ranks into management. My path as a small business owner began in 1988 with my first property investment, eventually resulting in a broker’s license and the creation of North Star, REALTORS in 1995.

 

For two decades, my wife and I managed this local business together until retiring in 2021. This work offered me a front-row seat to the challenges Iowa families face while trying to thrive in a system that frequently neglects the vulnerable. Seeing their persistence firsthand deepened my empathy and patience, fueling my resolve to build a government where no citizen is overlooked or left behind.