Meet Your Mayor: Mark Robe, Kalona

“I’m not a politician. I’m just me.”

By Cheryl Allen
Posted 1/11/23

On Friday afternoon, Mark Robe, the mayor of Kalona, came into The News office for an interview.

“Do you want to talk about why you take pictures of the moon, and about your dog?” I …

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Meet Your Mayor: Mark Robe, Kalona

“I’m not a politician. I’m just me.”

Posted

On Friday afternoon, Mark Robe, the mayor of Kalona, came into The News office for an interview.

“Do you want to talk about why you take pictures of the moon, and about your dog?” I asked.

He looked at me a moment, then stated, “You’ve been following me on Facebook.” 

We were off to a good start.  

Robe took office on January 1, 2020, that inauspicious year when our lives came unglued, but he took the challenges of COVID in stride and even used them to create a fun new summertime event in Kalona.  How is it a man born 60 years ago in Davis, California came to be mayor of Kalona?

His family moved to Coralville when he was five years old, and Robe continued to live in Coralville and neighboring North Liberty as an adult as he launched his career in printing.  

A friend of his parents was the plant manager at TruArt Color Graphics, a full-service printer in Iowa City, and he gave Robe his first job in 1979.  He held that job for nearly two decades before finding employment at the University of Iowa, where he has worked for 25 years.  Today he works as a mail clerk.

“My primary job is sending out bills and reminder letters for doctor’s appointments and stuff like that.  If you get a bill from the hospital, I sent it to you,” he laughs.  The hospital “send[s] us the files, we print them, and then I run them through my big inserter that inserts them into envelopes, and then we mail them out.”

“I think the printing industry is probably like the newspaper industry, where once you do it, it’s in your blood and you don’t ever quit,” he comments.

He ended up moving to Kalona when he married his wife, JoAnn, who is from this area.  

“We’ve been here for 20 years in April, and a couple of years after we moved here, somebody told me there was a spot opening up on Planning & Zoning,” Robe explains.  “I like being involved; I like doing things.  Planning & Zoning is cool because you can come in and help shape what the city is going to look like.”

After serving a 5-year term on the Planning & Zoning Commission, a resignation on the city council created a vacancy, and Robe was appointed.  He served 10 years on the city council before he saw an opportunity to run for mayor when Ken Herington stepped down after more than two terms.

“[Herington] asked me if I’d like to run for mayor, and I thought, sure, why not?  After 10 years, it’s time for new ideas to come in.  I’m a firm believer in term limits,” Robe says.  “So, after 10 years, it was time to run for mayor, and I’ll probably run one more time at least.  And then that will get me to retirement.  And then after that, who knows?  Maybe [Washington County] supervisor.”

When asked about his experience serving the city, some of the things he’s been proud to be a part of include the development of Southtown, construction of the Kalona YMCA, and creation of Kalona’s Veterans Memorial.

Robe acknowledges that navigating COVID early on was tricky, especially when staff were unable to work due to illness, but he says, “We got through it and did a lot of cool things during COVID, [such as] our pop-up food pantries.  We helped so many people out doing that, and that was really awesome.  We’re all very proud of the pop-up food pantries and how we deliver meals to seniors in town.  It’s twice a week right now, and it will ramp up a bit more as it gets colder.  But that’s really awesome too, and I know that people who take advantage of that are real happy with it and really glad that we do it.”

 Another project he started was the Mayor’s Classic Car Cruise, an event in June that sees classic cars parade around town before parking and allowing fans to admire the rides.

“That was during COVID too.  I saw other people doing it, and I thought, well, why can’t we do it?” Robe says.  “It’s just a way to get people out of your house, at least wave to your neighbors, and give you something to do.”

“We’ve done three now,” he says.  “We’ve always had threats of rain, except the first year.”

“I had a couple last year from Mt. Vernon who said they always went to some other show – I think the Mt. Vernon cruise or something – and they said ours was better.  That made me feel good,” Robe says.  

In case you were wondering, Robe himself does not have a classic car.

“Nope,” he says.  “I get to ride in a fire truck.  Every little boy’s dream.”

Robe may hold a high office in the City of Kalona, but at heart he is a regular guy.  When pressed to name a hobby, he cites yard work.

“Since my wife hasn’t been working, she took over the mowing job, and I kind of miss it,” he says. “I like having a yard that looks nice and taking care of it.  It’s fun.”

He also enjoys grilling out.

“We love to grill out.  I don’t care how cold it is, I’ll grill.  We grill all winter.”

Steak or Iowa Chop?

“Steak.  My wife’s not a big pork chop eater,” he explains.  “I have a Blackstone griddle.  They’re fun.  I can cook breakfast on it, eggs and bacon and hash browns and everything.”

Best grilling advice?

“Cook what you like and cook it the way you like it.”

Like most people, Mayor Robe is far more interesting than can be captured in a 1000-word news story.  So, if you want to know more about him, his moon photos, and his 2-year-old labradoodle, Sammy, you’ll have to do as I do.

Follow him on Facebook.