Our Board of Directors

Reed Riskedahl has been on the Prairie Rivers Board of Directors since 2011, hailing from Marshalltown; and has served as past-president, secretary, and treasurer and now again serving as president.

Originally from rural southern Minnesota, Reed and his family have been Iowans for 42 years with 32 of those years in Marshalltown. He and his wife Rita have two adult daughters and two grandsons.

Reed has a degree in business and his volunteer involvement and leadership positions, in and around Marshalltown, along with his work experience (now retired) in retail, service, manufacturing, construction, and real estate are valuable to the Prairie Rivers of Iowa board and staff.

He has Master Gardener and Conservationist certifications from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Dr. Mark Rasmussen is a retired microbiologist, most recently from a leadership position at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture; he spent four years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a research microbiologist (two years as a supervisory microbiologist and division director), providing technical guidance and research support related to regulatory decisions regarding drugs, additives, and contaminants in animal feeds and much more. For about 18 years, he worked as a microbiologist and researcher for the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Research Service, and the National Disease Center in Ames, Iowa. In 2000, he was appointed lead scientist/microbiologist. As a scientist for the Eastman Chemical Company, Mark conducted research in various aspects of animal nutrition and microbiology with an emphasis on cellulose digestion and fermentation. Career highlights include a U.S. Secretary of Agriculture’s Award for Food Safety, and he has been awarded a couple of U.S. patents.

Doug Cooper lives in Cambridge, Iowa and is retired from Iowa State University as the director of Market News and radio/audio for Iowa State University Extension Communications. He was also a co-host of WOI radio’s Midday program from 1990-2010.

He worked with WHO Radio farm department from 2010 – 2020. Previously, he was farm director at KICD radio in Spencer, KWMT radio in Fort Dodge, and WOW radio in Omaha, Nebraska.

He served six years of active duty in the United States Air Force prior to attending and graduating from Iowa State with a BA in journalism.

 He has traveled to several countries reporting on trends in agriculture and received an Agriculture Communicators in Education (ACE) Award of Excellence for his reporting on the changing conditions in Russian agriculture in 1992.

 Doug is married to Dianne Randall Cooper and has a daughter living in Brooklyn, NY.

 He is a supporter of ISU sports and enjoys listening to music on vinyl.

Bob Ausberger grew up on a farm north of Jefferson, Iowa and attended school there. He went on to teach 7th and 8th graders after graduating from the University of Iowa. After teaching for four years, he returned to Greene County, Iowa to farm. Bob has always been interested in soil and water conservation which led him to begin no-till farming in the late 1980’s. His son David currently works the farm which is still 100% no-till along with other conservation practices including terraces, contours, cover crops,  a mile of buffer strips along Buttrick Creek, tree planting along the creek, wetland establishment and using compost for soil health. David also works with the Iowa Soybean Association to monitor water leaving the farm. Bob and his wife Joyce also have a daughter, Susan Hawthorne, who is married to a Calhoun County, Iowa farmer.

His interests include the Lincoln Highway and since 1990 has been actively educating the public of its importance. He helped form the Greene County Lincoln Highway Association, the Iowa Lincoln Highway Association and the national Lincoln Highway Association.

Rick Dietz retired from the City of Ames Electric Services in 2015 and volunteers for many organizations including Prairie Rivers, Story County Conservation, the Story County Sheriff’s Dive Team, N-Compass and Project AWARE, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, the Iowa Wildlife Center, STAR 1 Search and Rescue, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Rivers Program.

He Attended Iowa State University (majoring in Horticulture) after getting an Associate Degree in Electronic Engineering Technology. His interest in prairies began as a volunteer at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Rick is a member of the Panora Conservation Chapter of the Izaak Walton League and the Iowa Environmental Council, a Recipient of INHF’s Hagie Heritage Award (2020), the Olav Smedal Conservation Award, and an IOWATER Volunteer of the Year Award (both in 2006)
His public service includes serving in the Army National Guard from 1988-1993.

Rick and his wife Carol Hansell, both Iowa natives, live just north of Ames where their home overlooks prairie, woodlands, and the Skunk River Valley.

Elaine Edwards joined the Prairie Rivers Board of Directors in February 2024. She grew up on a farm in Humboldt County and currently resides in Ames. She is married to Mark T. Edwards. They have three sons, all living in the Ames/Boone area.

A graduate of Iowa State University in Agricultural Journalism, with a masters in Journalism and Mass Communications, she dedicated 33 years to agricultural communications.  She managed communications units at Iowa State University Extension and at Kansas State University Research and Extension. Prior to that she worked for the Fort Dodge Messenger (Iowa) as a farm reporter and for Corn Belt Power Cooperative (Humboldt, Iowa) as an information specialist.

In 2015 she and her husband purchased a bed and breakfast in Lanesboro, Minnesota and jumped feet first into the hospitality business, learning the ropes of running a successful small business in an agricultural/tourist based community.  In 2022 they retired to Ames to live near family.

In addition to Prairie Rivers of Iowa she currently serves as the retiree director on the Association of Communications Excellence Board of Directors. She has served as chair of  several nonprofit boards including Lanesboro Arts, Minnesota Bed and Breakfast Association, and the Lanesboro Economic Development Association.

Elaine values the work of Prairie Rivers of Iowa and sees benefits through conservation efforts and monitoring and management of our natural and cultural resources.

Jim Richardson is a grain farmer from Webster City, Iowa.  A long-time member of the board, he has previously served as president, treasurer, and secretary. He also serves as a member of the Hamilton County Conservation Board.

He holds a B.S. and an M.S. from Iowa State University in Ag Education and Professional Ag and brings to the board experience as an Air Force pilot, agricultural banker, sales manager and college professor.

Jim is married to his wife Donna Moore, has two grown sons, three granddaughters and a grandson.

In Memory

Two members of the Prairie Rivers of Iowa’s Board of Directors recently passed away: Chuck Stewart and Erv Klaas.  We will miss them and are grateful for their enthusiastic leadership and support in life, and for the memorial gifts being made in their honor.  Below, we link to Jess Butters’ account of Chuck’s conservation efforts on his land, and to Dan Haug’s recollection of six birds that highlight Erv’s life and legacy.