Staff

Jon Fenner

Botna Bend Park Ranger
jon.fenner@pottcounty-ia.gov
712-741-5465

Jon was born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa and attended Abraham Lincoln High School, graduating in 1993. He then attended Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa where he received a BA in Environmental Science/Biology Option. During college Jon worked two summers at Botna Bend Park as a seasonal intern. After graduating he worked at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska and the following year was hired as Park Ranger at Botna Bend Park in March of 1998. He then attended the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and graduated in April of 1999, receiving a certification as a peace officer.

Jon is responsible for management of Botna Bend Park and Old Town Park and the overseas the two public wildlife areas in eastern Pottawattamie County, Farm Creek Public Wildlife Area and Wheeler Grove Conservation Area.

Jon enjoys family time with his wife and two children camping, hiking, canoeing, and traveling and never misses a school function or sporting event. He spends his free time woodworking, taking care of his animals at home, and toiling on his property.

Jon is acting treasurer and board member of Impact Hill, a community resource and recreation center located in the former Riverside High School in Oakland, Iowa.

Dave Fischer

Arrowhead Park Ranger
david.fischer@pottcounty-ia.gov
712-485-2295

Employed since July 1, 1988, Dave is our most tenured employee and was responsible for Narrows River Access and Long’s Landing before moving to his current position at Arrowhead Park. 

Arrowhead is a highly developed, recreational park and therefore is very busy. In addition to park maintenance, supervision and scheduling of staff, Dave is a peace officer, certified hunter safety instructor, snowmobile safety instructor, certified in Fish Iowa and he is a certified wildfire firefighter through National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

Chad Kunze

Hitchcock Nature Center Park Ranger
chad.kunze@pottcounty-ia.gov
712-328-5833

Chad Kunze started with PCCB on February 4, 2002. In 1997, Chad graduated with a Parks and Natural Resources Associates of Applied Science degree from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids.

In 2009, Chad moved from managing Narrows River Park and Blackbird Marsh in Council Bluffs to the park ranger position at Hitchcock Nature Center. Chad’s primary responsibilities include park maintenance, law enforcement and staff supervision. Chad attended the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in 2003 and is a certified peace officer. He also has his Category 6 Iowa Pesticide Applicators certificate, CPR certification, and CDL Class-A license. Chad has completed S130-190 wildland firefighting training and participates in the PCCB land management efforts.

Chad has been married since 2002 to his wife Ashlee and in Chad’s spare time he enjoys hunting and spending time with his two sons, Carter, age 6, and Blake, age 1.

Ryan Penney

Narrows River Park Ranger & Training Coordinator
ryan.penney@pottcounty-ia.gov
402-490-1290

Ryan Penney has spent most of his life in Council Bluffs and graduated from Lewis Central High School.  Growing up he was active in Boy Scouts and enjoyed being outdoors which lead him to pursue a degree in Forestry at Iowa State University. During his time at ISU Ryan worked as a Naturalist Intern for Story County Conservation. Ryan also held many seasonal positions with the IDNR at Lake Manawa State Park. These positions included Water & ATV Patrol Officer & Natural Resources Aide. In his free time, Ryan enjoys being outdoors cycling, running & fishing.

As the Narrows River Park Ranger Ryan is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the park including shelter rentals, guest services, park maintenance, and law enforcement. Ryan also assists the Environmental Education Department with the presentation of youth and public programming.

Todd Sliger

Summer Park Aide, Arrowhead Park

Cory Thomas

Assistant Park Ranger
cory.thomas@pottcounty-ia.gov
402-676-4507

Cory Thomas grew up in the Council Bluffs/Omaha area. He attended Thomas Jefferson high school, graduating with the most improved student award. Between attending Iowa Western community college for fire science, Cory worked several summers at Camp Foster where he learned many of the skills that he would use for his career.

Cory spent 2009 to 2012 as a wild land fire fighter, fighting fires in many western and Midwestern states. In 2013 Cory was hired as a full-time Assistant Park Ranger at Botna Bend Park.