Marilyn E. Staples
"Marilyn
Staples is the representative woman... She represents the
women who
have donated lives to volunteer activities. She represents the
women who do so much... She represents the women who have made a
difference in our lives..."
—Betty Grundberg, 1991
Marilyn
E. Staples, born in 1926, has worked as a volunteer to improve
the quality of life for Iowans. Her thorough research and unrelenting
advocacy have focused on housing, human needs, government, education,
and the land. She has often worked to support causes that were
unpopular but which had far-reaching beneficial consequences.
As president of the Des Moines Housing Council, she has developed
such programs as homesteading, housing for low-income families,
and a tool-lending library. She has served on the Polk-Des Moines
Taxpayers Association Board, Grand View College Board of Trustees,
Des Moines Planning and Zoning Commission, Polk County Land Use
Advisory Committee, Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce Federation
Board, and numerous other boards and committees. Staples has
been president of the League of Women Voters of Metropolitan
Des Moines and has chaired background studies on government,
health services, human resources, natural resources, and housing
issues. She co-drafted county charter legislation that was enacted
in 1988 and helped to spearhead the successful drive to establish
a Charter Commission in Polk County. This Commission, the first
in Iowa, may well provide a model for other counties as it studies
possibilities for restructuring county government and finance.
She was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1991.
UPDATE: Staples
has retired from the board of the Des Moines Housing Council,
after having helped found the organization in 1978 and serving
on the board from 1978 to 1993. She has continued her active
involvement in city government. She has served on numerous Des
Moines Planning and Zoning Commission committees, worked with
city staff on writing a comprehensive plan for the year 2020,
reviewed the City’s Capital Improvements programs, represented
Planning and Zoning on the Strategic Planning Commission and
other ad hoc committees, and served on the committee to re-engineer
the design of Martin Luther King Parkway. Staples has also served
on the Gray’s Lake Design Committee; the Southwestern Hills
Neighborhood Association Park Committee; the Polk Des Moines
Taxpayers Association; the Des Moines area Mayors’ Select
Committee on Tax Disparities; Fleur Drive Development group;
and the Metropolitan Des Moines League of Women Voters Board. |
