Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam Plagge, the city of Johnston’s economic development manager, a new position the city created to have a point of contact for developers.

 

At 33, Plagge has compiled a diverse background, having worked in Deta, Romania, while with the Peace Corps, and guiding a nonprofit economic development group in Fairfield. Some pieces of our conversation did not make it into the Business Record article that resulted from the interview.

 

It is interesting to know that one of the things that attracted Plagge to Johnston and Greater Des Moines was development officials’ focus on water trails. He is an avid kayaker and paddleboarder. Efforts to enhance water-related recreation and the possibility of paddling up to his favorite restaurant “definitely had an impact on me,” he said.

 

I asked Plagge whether he is paying close attention to the planned merger of Johnston stalwart DuPont Pioneer with Dow Chemical Co. and the ramifications for the city. Before it merged with DuPont in 1999, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, in addition to drawing international attention for its agriculture research, had a major influence on the residential development of Johnston as the driving force behind the Green Meadows planned unit development with its mix of homes, businesses, trails and parks.

 

Here’s Plagge’s response:

 

“At the end of the day, it looks like we’re going to be the global research headquarters for one of the best-positioned ag tech companies in the world. That certainly sounds like a positive.

 

“There inevitably will be difficulties, but when the merger is completed you would think that we would be in a very good position.

 

“They have a great campus and amazing facilities, and they have seen rapid growth in the last five years. There has been a lot of investment, and in the next 18 months we’ll see good growth.

 

“It’s also a good call for diversifying Johnston’s economy as well. We don’t want to be completely reliant on one company no matter how strong they are. With DuPont Pioneer and John Deere Financial, we’ve got kind of an ag sector here, but how do we capitalize with what they are doing? We have a good workforce for startup headquarters. We do have several office park areas that could be expanded on right now.

 

“Where we go from here is going to be a question, and I don’t know that we have the exact answers to that right now. But the City Council does understand that there is some repositioning that we have to do and some research that we have to do.