LeMars Sentinel
Beverly Van Buskirk
REMSEN — Dick Sievers, Executive Director of Mid-Sioux Opportunity, Inc., is retiring from his position effective Dec. 31, ending his career with the organization that spans 44 years.
Sievers began working for Mid-Sioux in 1980 and has served as executive director since 1983. He announced his retirement plans in June.
“It has been a pleasure to serve northwest Iowa and Mid-Sioux Opportunity, Inc. these past 40 years,” Sievers said. “Mid-Sioux has developed from a small non-profit to one of the largest in Northwest Iowa. That growth was possible because of a dedicated staff and board. Our communities have been great partners. I’m confident that the agency will continue to prosper under new leadership.”
He noted that when Mid-Sioux Opportunity was created in 1965, it had a $30,000 grant to get started.
“The budget now is about $16-17 million,” he said.
During his tenure there, Sievers said things have changed a lot.
“We started in the early days with employment-related programs,” he said. “Workforce Development at the state level has taken over those things.”
When Sievers started in 1980, Mid-Sioux covered five counties — Lyon, Sioux, Plymouth, Cherokee, and Ida.
“They are the same primary counties that we cover today,” he said.
Now Mid-Sioux has 120 employees covering the following services: Head Start/Early Head Start, W.I.C., Maternal Health, Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), Weatherization, Crisis Assistance, Outreach, Family Self-Sufficiency, Child Care Resource & Referral, Child Care Collaborative of Iowa, and others.
“We actually have employees stationed throughout the state. That’s happened within the last couple of years,” Sievers said.
About two years ago, the then Department of Public Health decided to change the service delivery territories for W.I.C. and Maternal Health, according to Sievers.
“Today we serve 10 counties with W.I.C. and maternal health. We go all the way to the Lakes area, Dickinson County, Clay County, and we have an office in Spencer now for W.I.C. services. And when we started with Child Care Resource & Referral, about 20-25 years ago, that was in the same five counties. That has now expanded to 23 counties in the Northwest corner of Iowa,” he continued.
One area they have concentrated on is child care services.
“Over the last two years, we secured a contract to provide financial consulting to child care providers throughout the state of Iowa,” he said. “We really expanded that in the last couple of years. And it’s going well. Child care services are certainly in demand and there is a lot of need out there,” Sievers said.
Sievers said he kind of grew in the job just as Mid-Sioux grew during his years there.
“I was just a kid when I started, and I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to grow with the company. The board has been good to me. The staff and all of our funding agencies have really helped me a lot, and I’ve been able to grow with the company,” he said. “When I started here, I thought I’d be here six months or a year.”
He admits there were a couple times when he thought about finding a different job, but he never found anything that he felt would be as enjoyable.
“So I just stayed,” he said.
Another reason for staying for the Avoca native is that he married a Remsen gal.
His wife, Susan, is a registered nurse with Floyd Valley Healthcare, and works with Dr. Steven Meis. She worked in healthcare at the hospital for 35 years.
Mid-Sioux’s expansion wasn’t just programs, but the office site as well.
“There have been two additions to the original office, with a large expansion in the last few years. There have been locations added, and sadly, some closed due to funding, he said.
“We have at least one office in each of the five counties we serve, and a W.I.C. office in Spencer. A number of folks work out of their homes,” he said. “We have an outreach office and intake office in each of the counties, as well as Head Start Pre-School locations in a number of communities, some are in school systems, or with a day care center, and even the courthouse in Ida Grove; it’s finding the right partner.”
Sievers, however, was not stuck in the office every day. The job allowed him to travel from coast to coast.
“We have a national association, in Washington D.C., and I was able to attend conferences. I was asked to testify at congressional hearing before, and served on some governors panels over the years. I went to Seattle to participate in an employment conference with other state employees,” he said. “I’ve been able to do a lot. It’s really been very good. It’s a unique opportunity, so I’ve been very fortunate.”
Sievers has been able to do some things that allowed him to be somewhat creative and expand services to do it a little bit uniquely.
“I think there are 16 community action agencies like Mid-Sioux across Iowa and about 1,000 in the United States, and we’re all private companies all private non-profits. We’re all unique,” said.
He gave several examples.
“The child care services that I mentioned, only two of the other community action agencies in Iowa do that. We have Head Start, not every agency does, we have W.I.C., not every agency does, and others may get into the housing area more than we do,” he said. “It allows us to get a little creative and look for services that are needed and would be good for the company.”
Most of the money that funds Mid-Sioux comes from federal and state dollars, mostly federal, he explained.
“It’s important to have a good relationship with elected officials, which I think we do,” he said, pointing out that ranges from the local county board of supervisors, to state legislators and federal elected officials.
Sievers said the local partnerships Mid-Sioux has been able to pull together is probably the most fulfilling part of his job.
“We work with the local public health offices with medical providers, dental providers, transportation systems, school systems, and more,” he said. “I really think that’s important, that all of us work together to provide services to get the most out of every tax dollar that we can. And it’s better for the families that we serve if they don’t have to wonder where these services are provided or where to go. We try to coordinate that as best we can. For the most part, those relationships have been really good.”
Sievers admits there is no “typical” day in his job. It may range from putting together a budget presentation for the board of supervisors, to working on insurance issues, or spending time on a conference call about legislative issues.
Sievers said child care is a huge need right now.
“Child care enables families to go to work,” he said.
He explained the Iowa governor’s office over the last four to five years has invested a great deal of money into child care, over $400 million, with a lot of that coming through pandemic funding.
“Some has been used to expand facilities, educate providers, and some just to do whatever could be done to expand the quality and quantity of child care,” he said. “We’ve been a part of that, administering some of those funds. We work with child care providers to help them understand all the rules and regulations they need to go through. I’m pleased to say we have been a big part of that.”
Other needs are affordable housing, affordable healthcare, both medical and dental, especially those who access Medicaid reimbursements.
“We try to be a one-stop shop for people who are in need of services. Even if we don’t provide a particular service, we try to connect families with the appropriate agency. We try to help as much as we can. Other providers do the same as well,” he said, adding, Northwest Iowa is doing a pretty good job of that, referring people back and forth to get people the help they need.
That getting help includes sharing facilities, such as with Plains Area Mental Health in Le Mars, the Le Mars school system, as well as the Akron Senior Center and school system. Still another good supporter of Mid-Sioux is the faith-based community.
Throughout his years, Sievers has had a passion for the work of Mid-Sioux.
“It’s a great job. It allows you to feel like you’re accomplishing things, and gosh you get paid for it, so what’s wrong with that?” He said. “We hope as an organization, we are making a difference.”
As for retirement, Sievers said he hopes to stay busy.
“I enjoy golfing, anything outdoors, hunting, fishing, gardening and things like that,” he said. “I hope I’m busy, hope to stay busy. I serve on the Remsen Utility board, and help out at the golf course here a bit, whatever comes along. I look forward to taking a little break.”
He’s also looking forward to spending more time with his family.
He and Sue have four children and 11 grandchildren.
Daughter Erica and her family live in Remsen. She is assistant assessor in the county assessor’s office. Emily and her family live in Le Mars where she works at the hospital and assisted living, which she manages. Son Dane lives in North Liberty and is assistant manager of schools in Coralville. Son Dustin and his family live in Des Moines, where he works as a regional sales person, selling athletic wear and equipment. “They are all in Iowa, and that’s great. They’re all wonderful. Hopefully now when I retire, I will get to spend more time with them,” he said.