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.
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.
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.