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Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.

As Dr. Robert Q. Christensen began his first term as 4th Ward Carroll City Council member in 1996, he looked forward to a 12-year career in city government to complement his 30-plus-year medical career in Carroll.

Although not born and raised in Carroll, “Chris” as he was known, and his wife, Pat, cared as much about the town as many life-long residents. Coming to Carroll to join the Kuker Medical Clinic in 1963, he later expressed, “One of the things that drew us here in the 1960s was the reputation Carroll had as being a very progressive community. It was known as a great place to raise a family and enjoy life,”

By 1996, Christensen had been in family practice in Carroll for 33 years.  Honored by the nomination of one of his patients, he was among the 21 finalists for Iowa Family Doctor of the Year, a prestigious award given by the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians. Christensen said he felt like he had already won because being nominated by a patient meant a lot to him.  

“Just being up for this is singularly important because my patients are my practice,” he said.

Born and raised in Algona, Iowa, Christensen graduated from high school there, and his first job was in his father, Roy Christensen’s, retail store. He said his father taught him how to work “beginning with the business end of a broom,” helping him to realize he would look for a career in medicine rather than in retail. He then completed undergraduate and graduate studies in medicine at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. After finishing an internship at a hospital in Eugene, Oregon, Christensen served in the Air Force medical corps overseas in Turkey for two years.   

He returned to the U of I Hospital where he met his wife-to-be, the former Patricia Cahill of Iowa City, while in their professional work. Pat was a nurse who received her nursing education in Mercy Hospital of Nursing in Iowa City and had worked in the operating room at Chicago Wesley Memorial Hospital. She returned to Iowa in May 1961, and she and Christensen were married soon after.

While still in Iowa City, Christensen earned a one-year teaching fellowship in pathology. Christensen said he discovered he preferred working on live patients so he switched to surgery as a specialty. Early in his medical career, however, Christensen was forced to change the medical direction he had chosen. But he said that he had no regrets and that it was probably one of the best things that ever happened to him.  

While working as a surgeon he contracted a staph infection and faced a one-year ban from the operating room. Christensen then joined a family practice in Menominee, Wisconsin, and subsequently in August 1963, the Christensens moved their family to Carroll where Dr. Christensen joined the practice of Drs. Kuker and Fangman at 726 N. Carroll St.   

The Christensens were attracted to Carroll’s outstanding parochial and public school systems, its many parks and recreational opportunities, the low crime rate and the diverse economy. Christensen and Pat noted,  “The friendliness and hospitality of the people here has always impressed us. Somebody moving into Carroll has no problem joining the community because they’re welcomed with open arms.”    

In 1995, Christensen and other local doctors formed the Medical Associates of Carroll in the new Community Health Center adjacent to St. Anthony Regional Hospital. Focused on his family practice, Christensen delivered about 2,000 babies throughout his career. In an interview in 1996, Christensen reminisced that in his years in Carroll he’d witnessed medical developments that were incomprehensible at the start of his career.  

“One of the biggest advances in medicines was the treatment of heart disease. Today we have medications we can give patients or we can air-vac them to Des Moines for balloon catherization of an obstruction,” he said.

Christensen said he felt honored to spend nearly all his medical career in Carroll because the community was “light years” ahead of others its size with regard to medical care. 

“Most other cities don’t have a hospital facility like we do, and they do not have the subspecialties in-house and in town like we do,” Christensen said. “And you aren’t going to find very many towns the size of Carroll with a cancer treatment center, dialysis unit and state-of-the-art outpatient facility and clinic. We’re way ahead.”

Announcing in 1995 that he would  run for the 4th Ward City Council seat, he stated that he had structured his medical practice so that he could give appropriate time time to serve. 

He noted, “My father was a businessman, and he instilled into me at an early age that if you’re going to live in a community, you need to be part of a community. Carroll has been very good to me, and I have always been in community activities. I now have the time to devote to the city council.”  

His personal goals for the position included: being part of positioning Carroll “so that we’ll not only survive in the 21st century but will prosper and lead west central Iowa, realizing that regionalization of government is the future.”  Other issues included: affordable housing needs, continuing to seek out additional industry compatible with the lifestyle in Carroll and strategic planing for the future involving infrastructure to prepare for expansion and growth.

Christensen retired from his medical practice and won re-election to the council in 1999.  He noted a number of positive developments in Carroll that led him to seek a second city council term: achieving the 35-acre ballfield complex with trail access; a $50,000 upgrade to the Recreation Center; $5.2 million in street improvements; and positive efforts in local law enforcement, particularly in the war against drugs. Heading up a committee on the Rec Center, he said he would be open to the idea of an outdoor pool in Carroll. Business-wise, Christensen emphasized the need to think regionally and support communities around Carroll.   Concerns about train traffic and noise, the possibility of a satellite ambulance and fire department office on the south side were also issues. In 1999 Christensen served on the Carroll Area Development Corporation.  In August 2002 Christensen filed papers for a third city council term stating that he would like to see ongoing projects to fruition, among them implementation of the city’s local option tax and the building of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. In 2003,  Christensen and City Manager Gerald Clausen accepted an All-Star Community Award on behalf of the city at an Iowa League of Cities meeting in Davenport. The city earned the state and national award with a soccer-field project, completed with the cooperation of the Carroll Community School District. The project was spearheaded by City Parks and Recreation Director Tom Louis. The combined city and school district project of $270,000 for five soccer fields was located between Carroll Middle School and the Little League Park.  

Two years into this third term, retired family physician Christensen became a candidate for mayor in October 2005. He cited his 10 years of city government experience and his ability to fight for Carroll.  He said, “In the next two years it will be as important if not more so than ever, to have a leader who can deal effectively with companies like Wal-Mart and General Electric.” 

He continued, “I believe we should continue with good, steady progress and move Carroll forward and at the same time improve the quality of life of the citizens of Carroll.”   

He noted a track record of membership on the Carroll Area Development Corporation that would allow him to work with outside corporate officials who would have major influences in the future direction of Carroll. In 2005 Wal-Mart was making the decision to locate a supercenter west of Carroll on Highway 30. The General Electric Company had terminated its business in Carroll, and the city needed to market that building. Other ongoing issues included: the completion of the wastewater treatment plant, possible funding for an overpass in the eastern part of Carroll; completion of the new fire station and completion of the Corridor of Commerce. Other issues of focus included: possible drilling of more water wells, possible aquatic center referendum, a skate park, more trails, possible smoking bans, reviewing plans for a possible merged library involving the city and Des Moines Area Community College, and support of four-laning of U.S. Highway 30 in western Iowa.

As mayor, Christensen brought back Franklin Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats” and via newspaper and radio, held a monthly chat with Carroll citizens concerning city issues. In February 2006, the mayor talked about the city’s and the Union Pacific Railroad’s consideration of  Bella Vista Drive as the location for a possible east side overpass. The mayor noted that this location would be a direct site from the new fire station to the south part of the city. Alternative systems of directional horns to mitigate railroad noise were also discussed as well as working to improve Carroll’s water supply situation and future four-laning of Highway 30.

In August 2006, a referendum for the construction of a new aquatic center at a cost of $2.96 million was approved by a 62% vote. The new center opened on June 30, 2009, at property on Grant Road north and east of the Des Moines Area Community College location. By this time $800,000 in priavte donations had been pledged for the center.    

In January 2007, Christensen and City Manager Clausen represented the city as Carroll took the lead in pushing for the four-laning of U.S. 30, along with the U.S. 30 Coalition and legislators in Des Moines. The mayor noted that four-laning U.S. 30 would relieve some of the traffic on Interstate 80 and provide access to new ethanol and biofuel plants in the state.

Christensen announced that he would not seek election to a second term as mayor. He cited achievements of the council while he was mayor as the following: progress in the Ashwood Business Park as well as a new fire station and renovated police department; the fact that the Wal-Mart supercenter under construction on Highway 30 west of Carroll would boost retail draw and the economy of Carroll.  He said the matters of a hotel-motel tax and municipalization of natural gas service should go to the full public for a vote. He expressed satisfaction that the aquatic center project was underway.

Through the years, Christensen was active in the Carroll Chamber of Commerce and the Carroll Area Development Corporation, the United Way, the Jaycees and Knights of Columbus, Little League and Boy Scouts.  During his long relationship with St. Anthony Regional Hospital, Christensen held every doctor’s association medical office including three two-year terms as chief of staff. He also served on the Carroll County Ambulance Board.  On a state level, he was very involved in the  Iowa Academy of Family Practitioners, the  American Academy of Family Physicians, and was a member of the Commission on Continuing Medical Education

As he looked to retirement, Christensen said, “We’ve looked all over, and we haven’t found a place we’d rather live in than Carroll.”

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