Norpel, Richard, Sr.

NORPEL

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 6/2/2007 at 12:51:50

Bellevue's "Man of Action".
Richard Norpel, Sr., lived politics from his home town to the Iowa General Assembly.
By Lowell Carlson, Bellevue Herald-Leader.
Richard J. Norpel, Sr. was an uncommon man to say the least. His death at age 88 last week, at home here in Bellevue, prompted an outpouring of remembrances and stories by family, and contemporaries from City Hall to Des Moines and the General Assembly.
Former State Representative, Bob Osterhaus, D-Maquoketa, credited Norpel with establishing the modern Democratic Party in Jackson County. Osterhaus said the Norpel campaign ethic and his ability to motivate was a key factor in bringing the party back during his years in office.
At Bellevue City Hall both Mayor Virgil Murray and City Administrator Loras Herrig had fond remembrances.
Back in 1995, the Bellevue Herald-Leader did something for Richard Norpel most public figures get to read. Instead of waiting for his passing to eulogize a lengthy career in local, county and state politics the newspaper interviewed a range of his contemporaries on his retirement from politics.
Iowa political personalities like former Governor Terry Brandstad and U.S.Senator Charles Grassley had served with him and for them Norpel was unforgetable.
The former state senator and representative was from a generation that has experienced the Great Depression and then World War II, back to back.
Norpel came back a decorated veteran, a Bronze Star, four battle stars and the Combat Infantry Badge after serving in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II.
He came home determined to be a part of the community, and indeed he did.
In turn Norpel was a carpenter, a soldier, grocery store owner, hotel keeper, dry goods store owner, subdivision developer, insurance agent, real estate salesman. There was little that Norpel did not have an interest in during his long public life here.
He promoted Bellevue and was among its early champions as a tourism proponent. Norpel welcomed fisherman to the Bellevue Hotel and cultivated their business before tourism development was really yoked with economic development in later years.
With his signature cigar and, by his own admission a "cocky" attitude, he made himself a person to be reckoned with on public issues and in party politics. In 1974, the Iowa Association of Tobacco distributors named him the "Cigar Man of the Year", a distinction Norpel took great pride in receiving.
Norpel's career in business and public life was matched by his family life. Richard and Janaan raised a family of six children. Mary Norpel, Dubuque, and her sister, Suzanne(Norpel)Fondell remember helping their father campaign door-to-door, as did the whole family.
"There were dogs, and a few snakes, but we would go with dad, knock on doors, introduce ourselves and ask people to vote for our dad. That's what we did on weekends during campaigns," recalls Mary. The Norpel children remember a father who was reluctant to ever talk about the war. "Dad would not discuss it. He never mentioned the war until he was contacted by a woman recently who wanted to know how her brother had died and then he did tell about some of the events in explaining how he was killed", recalls Mary Norpel.
Norpel's state level political career came following a series of successful appointments and a business career that began to give him some financial security and a basis for leaping into public service.
He was appointed to the Jackson County Conservation Board, he was named to the Iowa Mississippi Parkway Commission and eventually served as both chair and vice-chair. Norpel received the commission's distinguished service award in 1970, and the National Mississippi Parkway Commission award as the outstanding national member.
He ran for and was elected to the 64th and 65th General Assemblies as a Democrat to the Iowa House.
Norpel was forever proud of the fact he was the youngest legislator to floor manage a bill he had introduced, from first reading to the governor's signature.
Richard Norpel was ambitious politically. He saw his opportunity in 1974 and he ran for the Iowa Senate. It was during that period Norpel was able to play a key role in the effort to find funding and the political will for Dubuque's second bridge. He served as the appropriations chairman for the Transportation Committee. He was a key player in 1975 and 1976 serving on development, conservation and recreation, education appropriations committees.
In later years the former state legislator was happy to recount those days of horse trading and haggling. He was in his environment as he came to be a sought after vote and those wh dealt with him knew they had to bring something of value to the table to negotiate.
The legislator had gone to the eighth grade level before leaving for the world of work. It was not uncommon for a young man's education to end at that level during Norpel's youth. There was no money, there were no family connections to help him along and up the ladder.
The year 1976, was a pivotal one for Norpel. He and a delegation of Dubuque area legislators and state officials flew to Washington to seek the new bridge connection. In retrospect the state senator is credited with having been a key personality in the effort to get a new bridge crossing for Dubuque. He was bitter in some regards because neither federal nor state officials ever acknowledged his role in any meaningful way, not until he was in his twilight years.
When the Herald-Leader published a special issue devoted to Norpel's career in public life in 1995, he asked that his front page picture be taken in front of the bridge in Dubuque he had played such a critical role in securing for the community.
Former supervisor Al Ehl said last week Norpel's decision to run for county supervisor for District 1, brought a style of politics to the county level that the former legislator had become accustomed to in Des Moines.
"You simply had to learn to stand your ground against the man. To be honest, I liked him better when he was no longer a supervisor and I don't mean that as being negative. He was a strong politician and I think Rich let that govern him when he believed the outcome was important for something he wanted," Ehl explained.
There were plenty of high decibel exchanges while Norpel was on the board. He challenged his fellow supervisors , the county attorney, and detractors who did not share his view of how issues and procedure should move forward.
Bellevue City Manager Loras Herrig is another contemporary who found himself surprised to learn how Norpel felt about it when their relations at the council table were sometimes tense and combative.
"Rich had a dramatic impact on this community, on me. He often said 'be a leader, not a leaner.' and I know he helped me, but he did it in his style," recounted Herrig.
"When I applied for the position of city administrator here he put in a good word for me after Tom Roth resigned to go to Bellevue State Bank," said Herrig. "I think the thing we all found hard to understand was that Rich did not take politics personally." He could be ruthless, but he was surprised if you took it personally. He was good to people in his way, I have to give Rich credit for being progressive during the terrible times Bellevue faced in the 1980's. He wanted to do the river frontage, I pushed for it based on Rich's prodding. He was not afraid of big projects. He always said low taxes but no maintenance was no good for a community."
Herrig called Norpel a father figure last week. "He drove me crazy at times, but then there were days when you realized he was right about a number of issues," said the city administrator.
Bellevue Mayor Virgil Murray said last week the communities loss with the passing of Richard Norpel is hard to sum up. He had such a long and major influence on events and issues through the years in public life.
"Rich was a man of great self-confidence. As a result, being in public life you had to sometimes realize the best course was to agree to disagree at times. He did not take disagreement personally, and that was the secret to understanding Rich for me. He was a man who obviously loved his family very much."
Murray sai he got a telephone call from Norpel shortly after Roth resigned as city administrator. "He told me if I did not hire Herrig for the position it would be a great disservice to the community because of Herrig's experience and skills," related Murray.
"Rich was still giving me his opinion on local issues and events right up to a few weeks ago, including the sale of land to Bender's Foods for expansion. He had opinions and he expressed them. No one wondered where Rich stood on anything."
Murray and Norpel found themselves on opposite sides of the library project back in the 1980's and 1990's and the community struggled to find a workable fundable plan to upgrade the outdated facility.
Murray was library board president and he spent many an evening as the supplicant before Councilman Norpel as they looked for common ground to move forward.
"I certainly considered him a friend and enjoyed his company. When I selected him and his wife Janaan, to receive the 1998, Bellevue Volunteer of the Year Award, I got phone calls from some people critical of the selection. You only had to look at the lengthy list of service, involvement, projects to see it was derserved," notes Murray.
For someone like Richard Norpel, Sr., summing up his public life becomes a laundry list of boards, commissions, appointments and recognition.
He left public life reluctantly in 1995. Family members urged him to slow up. A defeat for the Bellevue City Council seat he held, by a political unknown, helped persuade him it was time to spend more time focusing on his large family.
In the 1995 Herald-Leader special issue the likes of U.S.Senator Charles Grassley recalled a tenacious legislator who, when focused on a goal, was relentless in the effort to accomplish it.
One project that never happened was his effort to gain funding and development honoring Ansel Briggs, Iowa's first governor. Grassley, who served with Norpel in the Iowa General Assembly remembers how the Bellevue legislator worked and worked to see it become a reality. It was one of the few defeats for Bellevue's "Man of Action".