.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Steve Peglow doesn’t see himself as a mapmaker. He’s more of a storyteller. “Each one of my maps tells a story,” he said.

“If you meet with me and want a map of your farm, by the time we’re done, we’ve told many, many stories. And by the time I produce that map, I’ll have a history of your farm on it, including the old oak tree where your daughter got married.”

A developer can tell you all day that his project is in a prime location. But in a second, one of Peglow’s maps shows you what words can only imply, he said.

“I’ve worked with a lot of developers through the years,” he said. “I do a lot of things besides maps, but the maps have really taken off because Central Iowa has really taken off.”

Peglow has worked on vision plans for several communities throughout the area, crafting maps that show what cities and towns have to offer, as well as what the future might have in store for them.

His latest project hopes to illustrate the “equal balance between the eastern and western suburbs for economic development,” he said.

“I’ve come up with a map that shows a 10-minute community,” he said. “Anywhere on this map, from Guthrie Avenue and I-235, is accessible in 10 minutes.”

Peglow said the popular misconception is that the East Side of Des Moines has no retail space, thus making it less appealing to developers. But with his 10-minute community idea, he points to the East Village, big-box retailers in Ankeny and big-box retailers in Altoona and says they are all accessible to anyone on the East Side.

“Des Moines’ eastern region has an equal balance with the western suburbs, and through mapping, I’ll not only tell you, but I’ll show you,” he said.

Harley Thornton, who does business development for Bank Iowa and has worked with Peglow on several projects throughout the years, said a good map helps lock everyone onto the same vision, which allows a project to move forward more quickly.

“It’s sometimes hard to get everyone on the same page,” he said. “Steve is amazing at illustrating, through his maps, exactly what we need to express and gets everyone on the same page. I’ve been in the development field for 37 years, and he’s probably the most unique talent I’ve encountered.”

Jody Gunderson, Waukee’s director of community development, said having Peglow in the area is a great asset, because it allows each community to benefit from his “immense talents.”

“We could easily download maps ourselves,” he said. “But it’s the presentation that he provides that makes a huge difference.”

Peglow said he thought at one time that MapQuest, the online mapmaking service, would put him out of business.

“Real estate companies were saying, ‘I don’t have to hire Peglow anymore. I can just go to MapQuest and I’ll show where Jordan Creek Town Center is compared to my development,'” he said. “Well, when they put those maps next to mine, they come back to me pretty quickly.”

Peglow said his ability to tell a story with his maps stems from starting his career in the newspaper business. He began at The Des Moines Register in 1968, creating Vietnam War maps. “They hired me when I was a senior in high school,” he said. “Right after I finished my last football game at North High. I began to be their night artist from 2 to 10:30 p.m. five days a week.”

While at the Register, Peglow learned from legends, he said, including Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Frank Miller.

“At the time it was the beginning of the cubicle, and my cubicle happened to be next to Frank Miller’s,” he said. “I was just 18 and was surrounded by all these brilliant people. I just sat and listened to them for a number of years, and once I got more confident, I started to speak. I ended up being quite the salesman.”

Since he left the paper in 1993, Peglow has kept busy working on many projects, including a book documenting the history of the Des Moines Police Department. But what he’s known for are his maps.

“I’ve gotten calls from all over the country about my downtown map,” he said. “They want me to do something similar for them, but I put about 5,000 hours of work into that map. It didn’t appear overnight.”

His business, Peglow Art and Design Studios, leases his maps to developers and communities on an annual basis, updating them every year upon renewal. He no longer sketches them all by hand, relying on a computer instead. But he still puts just as much detail into them as he ever did.

“My goal is to actually take you from above a map, go into a building, take you through the lobby, up the escalator and walk out onto the roof,” he said. “The more detail in a map, the more opportunity a person has to connect with that map.”