March 19, 2024

Baxter native embraces new role at DNR

Growing up in Baxter, Alex Murphy graduated high school with a class of about 20 students. Now, he works at an agency with nearly 1,000 people and serves the entire state of Iowa.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced last week that Murphy was hired as the department’s new public information officer. He will serve as a point of contact for all media and public information needs related to the DNR.

The communications specialist left his post at the Department of Public Safety to join the DNR. The opportunity was presented to him, and it was too good to pass up, he said.

With less than two weeks of DNR experience under his belt, Murphy said he has already learned a ton about the department’s diversity. There’s more to it than deer hunting and fishing. The DNR tackles issues like recycling, air quality and water quality.

“It is unreal the things that I don’t think the general publics knows what the DNR does and the great things that come out of here,” he said. “I get paid to teach people and tell people about these good things that are going on in this department.”

Murphy studied mass communications at Grand View University in Des Moines and worked as a television reporter for KCCI during his formative years. He then headed to Iowa State University to work in media relations, before landing the public safety gig. He said the connections he made along the way were invaluable.

“I think that you can learn a little bit from every single job you had and the people you surround yourself with,” Murphy said.

Murphy, who now resides in Des Moines, would not be where he is today without his small-town roots.

“It’s helped me tremendously, the things I learned at Baxter schools and the people in that community that still to this day support me and have supported me all throughout the years,” he said.

In his state-wide DNR role, Murphy will have opportunities to serve all Iowans, which of course includes those in Jasper County. When he steps back and looks at it, he said, it’s great to be able to touch so many people’s lives.

“I think the biggest challenge is going to be getting those good stories out, telling them to the public,” he said. “That’s obviously my main mission — tell the good stories of the DNR.”

Contact Justin Jagler at 641-792-3121 ext 6532 or jjagler@newtondailynews.com