Iowa Innovation Award

2022 Iowa Innovation Award Winner:
Clair Patterson

“The Most Important Scientist You’ve Never Heard Of” – Lucas Reilly

Clair Cameron Patterson (June 2, 1922 – December 5, 1995) was an American geochemist. Born in Mitchellville, Iowa, Patterson graduated from Grinnell College. He later received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and worked at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Patterson helped galvanize the environmental movement 50 years ago when he announced that highly toxic lead could be found everywhere on Earth, including in our bodies, and that very little could be due to natural causes.

2023 Iowa Innovation Award Winner:
David Hurd

Born in Chicago, Dave moved to Des Moines in 1954, found work at (then) Bankers Life, fell in love with the city, and soon adopted it as home. During his forty-year career as the Principal, he learned from respected mentors the importance of community activism and contributing to causes that improve the quality of life for all. As his business career matured, he became interested in the growth of Des Moines and immersed himself in helping make that growth happen. He believed his purpose in life was to make the world a better place, whether by picking up debris, raising funds for worthwhile causes, making donations from his funds, or building networks of friends and acquaintances to have a stronger, more prosperous community. He lived his life to those ends.

As an active and respected businessman, Dave and a few other community leaders began to talk about Des Moines as a world-class city in the late 80s. People started to take notice. As he took his company international, his increased opportunities to travel fueled his vision for Des Moines even more. He contributed enormous time and treasure toward reaching that goal for the next 25+ years.

Dave loved all things in and about nature. Canoeing, rowing, camping, and exploring remained among his favorite pastimes. Some of his passions are clean water, outdoor recreation & education, saving the environment, restoring prairies, and creating opportunities for increased health and wellness for employees at Principas.   He was an avid runner and biker, primarily through Water Works Park. The ideas for increased use of the park for all citizens such as opportunities for paddle boarding, more recreation and enjoyment of the outdoors, chances to be near a river and learn about utilization of our critical water sources, places for families and friends to gather and relax, new areas to walk, jog, rollerblade – all this excited him. He knew these were vital ingredients for a world-class city.

The Hurd Visionaries, recognizing $10,000 contributors to the Foundation, was based on Dave’s habit of wearing interesting lapel pins. His purpose was to engage in quiet conversation about the environment. When asked about a pin, he would say, “It’s just a reminder that we are all responsible for the almost minor things.”

2024 Iowa Innovation Award Winner:
R.W. & Mary Nelson

From humble beginnings to founding a global ingredients manufacturing business, R.W. Nelson built a legacy that continues to transform lives.

After returning from duty, R.W. resumed his studies at Drake, majoring in biology. During this time, he went on a blind date with an Iowa State University student, Mary Kelleher. Set up by her cousin, who wanted an introduction to Mary’s college roommate, Mary insisted that she would only make the introduction if he brought someone for her, and that someone was R.W. They would go on to date for several years, marry in 1953, and spend the next 72 years together.

The first of the Nelsons’ five children, Christopher, was born in 1954, followed by Elizabeth (“Libby”), Janet, David, and Molly. Restless to start his own business and follow in the footsteps of his father and brother, and unhappy about his prospects in his current role, R.W. struck out on his own in 1961. With $10,000 in savings, a living room for their home office, and five small children, R.W. and Mary created an agricultural ingredient company in Des Moines, Iowa, that would become known as Kemin Industries.

Sensing an unmet need in the market, R.W. applied his experience in feed additives, his scientific background, and his ingenuity to create flavors, crop preservatives, and antioxidants for animal producers and farmers. He mixed them by hand in a Maytag® wringer washer at hisfather’ss wool barn—the company’s manufacturing facility. He did this while Mary tended to the administrative side of the business.

Ever the entrepreneur, R.W. always focused first on serving customers, which led Kemin into new areas. By 1967, the business had grown too big for the Nelsons’ living room, and a small office was built on the same site as the manufacturing plant, which had been built four years earlier. Today, Kemin’s state-of-the-art, multi-million-dollar worldwide headquarters campus occupies the same area as the original facilities.

For over six decades, R.W. and Mary built Kemin from a small Midwest company into a global leader in ingredients and scientific innovations, offering more than 500 specialty ingredients that better the health and well-being of people, pets, animals, livelihoods, and the planet. Today, the Kemin footprint spans six continents and serves customers in more than 120 countries. Known as Kemin’s most dedicated marketer and salesman, R.W. came to the office for nearly 60 years. He was beloved by countless customers around the world and thousands of Kemin employees whose lives he impacted.

2025 Iowa Innovation Award Winner:
Jay Byers

Jay Byers is being remembered as a man who helped shape Des Moines’ future through his innovation and as the special ingredient in the “secret sauce” he often said made the Des Moines metro successful.

Byers, the president of Simpson College and past president and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, died unexpectedly on April 17. He was 54.

Byers was known as a husband, father, friend, mentor, visionary leader, musician, and unstoppable advocate, his obituary reads. Byers is survived by his wife, Katie, two daughters, Charlotte and Sophie, and many other family members and friends.

Community leaders said Byers’ visionary leadership and relationship-building helped position the Greater Des Moines region for future success. Among his achievements at the Partnership, the organization expanded to represent 11 counties and 24 affiliate chambers of commerce, with more than 6,500 members, making it the fourth-largest regional chamber of commerce in the country. During his tenure, the Des Moines metro was also ranked the fastest-growing major metro in the Midwest in population, GDP, population, and job growth.

Tiffany Tauscheck, president and CEO of the Partnership and a close friend of Byers, said she and her colleagues were “heartbroken by the terrible news of Jay’s passing.”

“Jay was a transformational leader for Greater Des Moines and for the Greater Des Moines Partnership,” said Tauscheck, who succeeded Byers in leading the Partnership. “He continuously shaped the future through his bold ideas and strategic vision. Jay deeply believed in the power of kindness, optimism, and community. He was a friend to everyone and a genuinely wonderful person.

“His positive impact cannot be properly summed up in words; it will be seen and felt by many for decades to come through the numerous people, projects, events,s and ideas he believed in and supported. His friendship, guidance, and belief in me, the Partnership, and our community will not be forgotten. Jay was simply the best and we will miss him deeply. Our hearts are with his family during this incredibly difficult time.”

Before joining the Partnership, Byers served as district director for Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell and as an attorney at Ice Miller in Indianapolis. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Simpson and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Iowa.

He served on several boards of directors, including Catch Des Moines, America’s Cultivation Corridor, ChildServe, and the Blank Park Zoo Foundation, as well as on Simpson’s board of trustees for 11 years. Byers was a Business Record Forty Under 40 honoree in 2006 and was selected as the Forty Under 40 Alum of the Year in 2012. Business Record readers voted him as the No. 2 Most Influential Business Leader from 2019 to 2023.