Van Meter, Iowa · Uniting Visionaries

Van Meter is growing. Let's build it right.

We're a 501(c)(3) of business owners, families, and neighbors working to keep Van Meter's small‑town feel while giving it the downtown, the amenities, and the voice a growing town needs.

Get involved Watch Episode 1

New Trails

A paved corridor planned from Grand north to the school

20 min

To downtown Des Moines, straight down I‑80

Main Street

Reviving downtown is the next big push

Top‑rated

The school district families are moving here for

Our show

Talk of the Town

A monthly community program filmed at PLS Podcast Studio in downtown Van Meter. Community updates, a featured guest, upcoming events, and questions from residents — honest conversations about where this town is headed.

Inform. Inspire. Involve.

Hosted by Randy Curran & Tony Parenza

EP 01

Welcome to Talk of the Town

Why the program exists, what the Community Leaders are working on, and how residents can take part.

Out now

EP 02

Building Van Meter's Future

With Paul Scieszinski and Superintendent Darrin Derflinger — growth, schools and business, and the vision for the next decade.

EP 03

Honoring Those Who Served

Leaders from the Van Meter American Legion on veteran services, youth programs, and preserving tradition.

EP 04

Business Spotlight

Local owners and entrepreneurs on new businesses, downtown development, and what it takes to expand here.

EP 05

Families of Van Meter

Longtime residents and multigenerational families on traditions, change, and why they still call Van Meter home.

EP 06

The History of Van Meter

Historians and longtime residents on the historic downtown, the schools, and lessons worth carrying forward.

Have a guest to suggest, or a question you want asked on the show? Send it our way.

Why now

Growth is already here. The plan shouldn't be an afterthought.

Room to grow

Young families are choosing Van Meter for the school district. New housing has to keep pace without losing what brought them here.

Real investment

A stronger commercial base takes pressure off residential taxpayers. Local dollars, local decisions — not outside developers setting the agenda.

A credible voice

Business owners and residents at the table alongside city government, not against it. Positive, transparent, and never political.

What we're working on

Four things this town keeps asking for.

A recreation center

The most common request in local surveys. The school gym can't carry youth sports, community programs, and everything else on its own.

A real downtown

Main Street storefronts, a place to grab coffee, somewhere to run into your neighbors. The town square Van Meter doesn't have yet.

Trails and open space

The F90 trail corridor running north toward the school — connecting neighborhoods and giving an active community somewhere to be active.

Businesses worth the drive

Retail, restaurants, and services that keep everyday spending in Van Meter instead of sending it to Waukee and West Des Moines.

“Communicate, and you can build anything.”

— From the meeting that started the Community Leaders

For years the only news in town came from a flyer in a utility bill or a rumor on Facebook. Talk of the Town exists so residents hear it straight, from the people actually doing the work.

Who we are

Neighbors, not a committee.

Van Meter Community Leaders is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed by local business owners, investors, and residents. We're independent of city government — which means we can move on projects, tell the community's story, and bring investment to the table without waiting on an agenda item.

Everything we produce follows the same rule: honest, respectful, and about the whole town. Never political, never pushy.

Stay in the loop

Join your neighbors

We'll keep you posted on meetings, new episodes, and ways to help. A few emails a month — that's it.