Pleasant Hill Mayor Sara Kurovski is no stranger to breaking barriers and normalizing what hasn’t been done before. When she first took office in 2014, at age 29, she was the youngest mayor in the Des Moines metro and first female mayor of her city.
A few years later, she was at the Downtown Farmers’ Market with her two boys, Damien and Oliver. She ran into another metro mayor and introduced him to the boys. As she tells the story:
“When he walked away, my youngest, Oliver (probably about 4 at the time), put his hands on his hips, looked up at me and said, ‘But Momma, I did not know that boys could be mayors too?!’ I told him that if he also worked hard that someday he could run for office. But he was completely baffled.”
Kurovski is a Des Moines Lincoln High grad who earned a bachelor’s degree at Truman State and a master’s in public administration at Drake and is now CEO of Make-A-Wish Iowa. She told the story when we both spoke on a panel earlier this month for a Junior League of Des Moines event.
“I love to tell this story,” she says, “because it was in this moment I realized that I had normalized for my two boys that women can be in office. And I also understood how important it was to make sure I got in front of as many young children as possible — so it would be normal for them as well.”
I thought of Kurovski’s story as I’ve been pondering Caitlin Clark’s legacy as a superstar college athlete, a topic Hawkeye columnist Chad Leistikow, who has followed her career since her Dowling Catholic High days, has addressed in an insightful column. (It’s a timely retrospective as she heads off to the WNBA. Read it!)
She’ll be remembered for her ultra-long-distance shots, of course, and the national scoring record she set, for men and women. But I think her greater legacy is that she has normalized for little girls and little boys around the country that a woman can achieve jaw-dropping athletic feats, fill arenas and draw millions of viewers. And she did it while lifting her teammates (third all-time in assists) and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to live out her dream of playing college basketball.
It’s been a privilege for Iowans to watch history in the making by one of our own.
A salute to Teree Caldwell-Johnson
It’s been heartening to see the outpouring of tributes to the late Teree Caldwell-Johnson, the 18-year Des Moines Public Schools board member and community champion whose visitation and funeral are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. She died of cancer at age 68.
Many people talk about building community, but Caldwell-Johnson walked the walk.
She built her career on public service, including as executive director of the Metro Waste Authority, as Polk County manager and for 20 years as CEO for Oakridge Neighborhood and Oakridge Neighborhood Services, providing homes, educational programming and opportunity for thousands of low-income families.
And besides volunteering on the school board, she packed her “free time” with serving on the board of directors of the National Civic League, Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, Capital Crossroads and Polk County Housing Trust Fund, to name just a few of the organizations listed in her obituary.
I had the honor of working with her on some initial presentations of data gathered by The Directors Council, a coalition of Black leaders working to address the disparities and inequities experienced by Black residents of Polk County.
Her death leaves a huge void in community leadership. I can think of no better tribute than for the rest of us to pick up the baton and carry on the work to which she devoted her life: to ensure all children and families have the opportunities to build rewarding lives and pursue their dreams.
Carol Hunter is the Register’s executive editor. She wants to hear your questions, story ideas or concerns at 515-284-8545, chunter@registermedia.com, or on Twitter: @carolhunter.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: What is Caitlin Clark’s greatest legacy as a superstar college athlete?