The oldest mayor in Iowa: Wallace "Wally" Loney
I accidentally met the oldest mayor in Iowa on Monday.
An assignment related to a story I'm writing with my colleague Jason Noble about broadband connectivity in rural Iowa towns brought me to the small town of McCallsburg, population 333.
The trek through the beginnings of a mild snowstorm took me north to Story City and east through the countryside, about 50 minutes from Des Moines.
I arrived to find four cars outside of a small city hall building. It was little bigger than a conference room in the Des Moines Register's newsroom.
But five gentlemen sat, ready to chat about broadband.
At the nearest chair sat Wallace Loney, who turned 90 this month.
"You're not Norwegian," Loney said.
My reply? "How could you tell?" It broke the ice quickly and Loney seemed to appreciate the casual nature of the conversation.
Loney thinks a build out of fiber connectivity will be a source of pride to his tiny little village. After all, how can you possibly attract families to live in this town without connectivity?
It has been 26 years since Loney took charge of the town. But his grip on the town's leadership seems safe.
Loney drew 98 percent of the vote in the most-recent election.
Loney had an air of authority, even while seated at the table with men less than half his age.
According to reports, Loney still walks around town, looking for sticks to pick up out of people's yards because, naturally, he wants the town to be clean.
After meeting "Wally" and hearing about his daily activities (he drives around at about 15 miles per hour "looking for things"), my only question about him garnering 98 percent of the vote is, who would vote against him?
This is the latest in a series of posts offering a glimpse into life as a journalist at the Des Moines Register.