Numerous journalists have been quoted as saying that “journalism is the first rough draft of history.” Having reached the 15-year mark this month at the Business Record, I had a little fun glancing in the rearview mirror at some of those first drafts. 

Looking back, I reported on a flurry of development activity that was just beginning to heat up across Greater Des Moines. By typing my last name in a search of our online archive, I pulled up a few gems that really took me back. (And the online searchable archive, with stories that date back to 2002, is a free resource for any Business Record member, by the way.) 

Here are some of the headlines: 

Going intermodal: In this look at the conceptual stages of the DART Central Station project, former Des Moines Area MPO Director Tom Kane said of the proposed transit hub, “At this point, we have a lot of questions; we just don’t have a lot of answers.” 

Local convention bookings are up: I examined how convention bookings had grown in the early 2000s, and looked at the prospects that Jordan Creek Town Center and Wells Fargo Arena — which were both still under construction — were expected to have on visitor traffic, along with construction of numerous additional hotels. 

I was also involved in covering some other emerging new projects — many of which were just grand plans at that stage — among them the Principal Riverwalk project and Western Gateway Park. Some other biggies included Wells Fargo Home Mortgage’s headquarters project — which was awarded $10 million by the state from the brand-new Iowa Values Fund, along with the new Science Center of Iowa and Des Moines Public Library, which were both under development. 

Other development stories I wrote had headlines that now seem like prescient predictions, like ISU land sale to spur Ankeny growth and East Village prospects picking up. 

It’s kind of amazing that 14 years ago, for instance, I interviewed city officials about a concept for the development of Western Gateway Park — in a story with the headline, “A catalyst for development”: 

“… a vista of open park space linking the western edge of downtown with the core business district, with tree-lined sidewalks connecting the Temple for the Performing Arts, the John and Mary Pappajohn Center for Higher Education and the new Des Moines Public Library. The dapple of water splashing on rocks will be heard from a small canal passing through what will be known as Western Gateway Park. There may also be a fountain and some public artworks.”  

Looking back can often provide some valuable perspective on where we’re going.