Christiansen Reflects on Dunes 20th Anniversary:

Marilyn Christiansen admits her late husband was a bit of a dreamer.

"When he was a kid he loved to sit on the banks of the Missouri right out there and fish. And, probably dreamed about a lot of things that he wanted to do with his life I'm sure," Christiansen reminisced of Russ' dreams.

Twenty years after Russ Christiansen vocalized his dream of a master planned community, the residents, business people and developers have gathered for a celebration recognizing two decades of progress in Dakota Dunes.

Memories of the beginnings of the 2000 acre residential and commercial community were shared by speakers to an audience of over 150 in a standing room only banquet hall at the Dakota Dunes Country Club on Monday, August 4, 2008.

Taking time to reflect on the years leading up to this milestone, Christiansen felt her late husband would have been proud.

"I'm just thinking that he would be so pleased. There is very little that I see that he wouldn't have liked. It's just a great place to live," Christiansen remarked. "I think that Russ' first thought would be that it would probably be a place for retirees, such as I am today. And, was he pleased when he started to see the families build."

It's hard to believe that just 20 years ago, Christiansen learned of her husband's vision while doing housework.

"I was folding clothes in the laundry room," Christiansen recalled of the day in 1988. "He said I want to talk to you right away. I was just shocked you know. I knew there were some rumors about some real estate transactions. But, I never really believed it, because it sounded so enormous."

The area, flanked by the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers, was initially valued at $2 million. Today Christiansen's dream is estimated at $292 million. With Over 2,600 residents and 76 companies that call Dakota Dunes home, the future is bright.

Speakers talked of a five year plan to continue local commercial growth and expand the Village Square retail area threefold.

And that's exactly what resident Tom Geu wanted to hear.

Geu, a Dakota Dunes resident of just 4 months, attended the ice cream social to learn about the future of the new community that he now calls home.

"I just wanted to see what the plans were," Geu said.

A short video slide show of the Dunes progress through the years allowed those gathered to take a trip down memory lane. From pictures of the first earth moving equipment, to pictures of beautiful new homes, smiles spread across the crowd as they watched their dream community grow.

Russ Christiansen was the former chairman for Iowa Power Supply, the local power company now known as MidAmerican Energy. His wife recalled the reason his dream was so necessary for the area.

"It was primarily for the economic condition of the utility, because growth was very, very small, in that period of time in the 80's, because of the farm crisis and so many things. As a result, it really was an economic development move that my husband did," Christiansen explained. "And he was indeed, a visionary."

And, today, Christiansen can't imagine living anywhere else. The sense of community, picturesque setting and abundance of wildlife bring her joy daily.

"One time, right after Russ and I were living in Des Moines, and here, and that was from 1991-1996, traveling back and forth, there was one morning, he went to leave and there were deer in our yard. That's when there were hardly any lights, or roads, or anything. Anyways, sure enough, there were 44 deer in our yard."

Stan Boyle and his family were the first to purchase a home in Dakota Dunes. Boyle recalled moving day, February 6, 1991, and the early days of Dunes life. He spoke to the audience about the first traffic signals and early development.

"There's a lot more memories out here, and a lot more memories that are going to be made," Boyle commented.

And for many, the evening's events will also become a memory.

"It really has been a real dream. There's just no doubt about it," Christiansen mused. "There were some skeptics, and real critics at first. But, you just kind of smile through it."

***This article was originally published in the North Sioux City / Dakota Dunes Times by Sedgwick Publishing.***