Anderson fills ‘big shoes’ on Vision Iowa board
The remaining Vision Iowa board funds were handed out last month, but the program is not over. Now, a new chairperson, Andy Anderson, will have his turn to put his stamp on the program. Anderson, an attorney with Faegre & Benson LLP, was asked to fill the role last month when the previous chairman, Michael Gartner, resigned to serve as a board member on the Iowa Board of Regents. Anderson has been involved with the public infrastructure refinancing program since its inception, when he served as general counsel to the Vision Iowa board as the assistant attorney general for the Iowa Department of Justice. At 40 years of age and a father of two young children, the Decorah native said one of his priorities with his new role is to address the issue of what it’s going to take to get young people interested in staying in Iowa.
Why were you drawn to law in the first place?
It’s really a problem-solving profession, and I think it’s a fun process. My grandfather was an attorney, so I grew up around the law firm. As kids, my siblings and I would sit behind his desk and take turns playing court, where one person would play the judge and we’d argue cases.
When you worked for the attorney general’s office, how did yet get involved with the Vision Iowa program?
Over the years, I’ve represented several different state agencies, including the Iowa Department of Economic Development, the Treasurer of the State and the Iowa Lottery. When Vision Iowa was created, I was asked to represent it because of my economic development experience.
What was it like to watch Vision Iowa get off the ground?
I remember the day when the board first met and no one knew each other. There were no rules. Everyone looked around and sized each other up, and at that point, it was hard to tell whether it would work or not. Luckily, it was a very strong board with some phenomenal individuals, and it had a tremendous leader in Michael Gartner. He was the right person at the right time to lead that board.
What did you learn from watching him?
Michael was great at being inspirational to people. I learned that you have to ask the tough questions, but you also don’t want to squash the people’s desire to do something.
You need to be receptive to a diversity of ideas. Sometimes there is something that you might be skeptical of, but you take a leap of faith and they turn out to be pretty cool.
What was your reaction when five years later, you were asked to take over the chairperson’s duties?
Gov. Tom Vilsack called me on a Friday afternoon and told me that he wanted me to do it, because it would be a more seamless transition since I had been there since day one and gone through a few years of projects. I was open to the idea, but I knew from watching Michael that it was a substantial time commitment.
Did you have other apprehensions?
I told the governor, “The standard has been set pretty high. I don’t have a Pulitzer Prize. I don’t own a baseball team, and I haven’t been the president of NBC News.” Gov. Vilsack was terrific. He said, “That’s a high standard that nobody can meet. You need to set your own standard and do it in your own way and put your own mark on the program.”
What resources are you left with now that the Vision Iowa money has all been allocated?
We have a commitment for $12 million per year up to 2010 for the CAT (Community Attractions and Tourism) program, as long as the Legislature approves it. The Vision Iowa projects and the CAT projects mainly have the same goal in mind, to incent projects focusing on recreation, tourism, entertainment and lifestyle projects.
What personal attributes will help you most in this role?
Probably half of the work I do in my legal practice is finance work, so I know that whatever project it is, you have to do your homework and do your due diligence to sit down and ask the right questions to put the deal together. Putting a deal together is an exciting thing, and it entails a lot of skills, thick skin and the ability to say “no.”
What do you hope to focus on as the board’s leader?
One of the things that I want to focus on is how to get young people to come back to the state or stay here. I’m not against young people going off and exploring, because I’ve done it. I’ve lived in China, Australia, England and Washington, D.C., and I thought it was a great learning experience. But I want young people to feel like it’s all right to come back here to establish a home base and to try to bring some of that culture back here after you’ve explored those other sites. I would like to really hear from young people in their late teens and 20s what they want and how we should spend this money to improve the state for them.
Why do you care about this so much?
I’m a fifth-generation Iowan, and I love the state. One of my favorite things to do is to canoe the Upper Iowa River in Decorah. When I was a kid growing up there, we had a ski hill and a cave, but they have since closed. With this program, we’re able to create more community destinations that have been lost over the years. If I can make this a better place so that my kids will stay here or want to live here for some part of their lives, then it’s definitely worth it.