Mayor Brent Matthias?

A former TV reporter, Wartburg VP and emcee for Dolly Parton plans a run at mayor of Waverly.

We've featured Waverly on The Iowa Journal and talked to now-retiring mayor Ike Ackerman. Fun thing about Ike is he can recite every town in Iowa and its population as according to the DOT map issued.

This is not an endorsement of Brent Matthias' campaign, but rather sharing the info.

Brent and I go back a bit during my time at Wartburg and the time since. He's a guy like me, communications major, went through the doors at KWWL-TV and loves the color orange.

Here's an article from 2005 about Brent from the Waterloo Courier.

He'll be in the race against some political big hitters for the Bremer County town. Bob Brunkhorst, the former State Senator, Fifth Ward Councilman Fred Ribich and At-large Councilman Duane Liddle all have already announced their candidacy.

Brunkhorst was in the Senate when I was at Wartburg and started my reporting career at KIMT-TV. Ribich was on faculty at Wartburg during my time, but I did not have any classes with him.

You may have seen Brent on commercials for Casey's General Stores a few years ago. Maybe we can find a couple of those out there and post as well.

What are your favorite Brent Matthias stories?


Here's his release.

Matthias to run for Mayor

A stranger to politics but no stranger to the Waverly Community is running for Mayor. Brent Matthias former KWWL reporter and former Wartburg Assistant Vice President for Admissions is the latest candidate to seek the office of Mayor of Waverly.

"As a son of a Mom who was a social worker and a Dad who was a farmer, and a Wartburg graduate, service and hard work have been ingrained in my life since a young age. Being raised in Bremer County and now living in Waverly since 2002, I have come to appreciate what a wonderful community Waverly is." Matthias stated.

Matthias, 39, will be running against three other candidates, all who have political backgrounds. Bob Brunkhorst, the former State Senator, Fifth Ward Councilman Fred Ribich and At-large Councilman Duane Liddle all have already announced their candidacy.

Therein lies the motivation for Matthias declaring his candidacy.

"There are so many good things about Waverly, but now it is time to take the community to the next level, and one of the ways to do that is to bring in a fresh face and new perspectives; perhaps it’s time for folks to have a non-politician to choose from on the ballot."

Matthias is not unfamiliar to serving the community. He currently serves on the Waverly Cable & Telecommunications Commission, has coached Little League Baseball and Youth Football in Waverly, and is currently a high school baseball coach and motivational speaker. That has led him to start his own company, Matthias Entertainment & Consulting. He and his wife, Kari, have four children and are members of St.John's Lutheran Church here in Waverly. Kari is a speech language pathologist for AEA 267.

"My family and I have talked about giving back by being involved in city government and I always said "someday". But after being flooded out of our house in the summer of 08' and learning more about the political process through recovery efforts, I realized that this is the time to become more involved and that "someday" is now." Matthias said.

Matthias's key issues will include; bringing more economic development to town, looking into flood recovery and flood mitigation issues, improving the systemic health of city government, and bringing in more tourism to Waverly.

"We want to focus on all the citizens of Waverly and hear what their needs are and how they want to see their community move into the future. Waverly has good schools, a good college, a good hospital, a good retirement community, good businesses, and there is no reason that Waverly can't be the star of the state! It should be an exciting time for all of the families and citizens of Waverly!"