Channing Dutton is a lawyer in Urbandale. His duty is climate action for all children.
Meredith Willson gave us a timeless Iowa tale in “The Music Man”: a fast-talking charmer named Professor Harold Hill sweeps into River City, peddling a dream of shiny instruments, crisp uniforms, and the vision of a boys’ band that will keep young people out of trouble.
Not everyone was swayed by his pitch. Do you remember the bumbling school board members assigned to track down his credentials? Every time they got close, Hill got the barber shop quartet to start singing instead of digging up the truth.
The Professor is a fraud, of course—but by the end, we don’t hate him. In fact, he delivers more hope and harmony than River City had before.
Fast-forward to Des Moines in 2025, and the story feels strangely familiar. Only this time, the man with the dream wasn’t selling trombones—he was selling himself. Dr. Ian Roberts, the new superintendent, told us he had the Ph.D., the MIT pedigree, and the big awards. He signed the forms, shook the hands, and inspired the community to believe again. The city wanted to believe. We all wanted to believe.
Like Harold Hill, it appears Ian Roberts lived inside the story he was spinning. Maybe he even came to believe his own script: “I always think there’s a band, kid.”
And while the résumé padding and falsehoods are no small matter—he wasn’t a citizen, wasn’t the credentialed academic we thought—it’s also true that he came to Des Moines with energy, vision, and a promise to the kids. We all loved it.
That’s the curious thing: even as the deception unraveled, people admitted Roberts had presence. He could inspire. He talked about kids’ futures with urgency and passion, something that most superintendents drown in bureaucracy before ever attempting. In a way, he delivered more than the safe and steady “honest” choices often do.
Now Des Moines finds itself in the same bittersweet position as Willson’s fictional Iowa town. Do we remember the lies, or the lift we felt when we believed? Do we condemn the imposter, or recognize that even an imposter can stir something real in a community?
In the musical, Harold Hill is redeemed by the ragtag band that finally plays—badly, but together. In Des Moines, the story may not end with a parade, but perhaps with the humbling realization that sometimes, even the flawed figures who sell us dreams manage to change us for the better.
10 Comments
thanks for this
I’m afraid it will get swept away in the maelstrom of hate and bigotry but by all accounts the man was delivering on the job he was hired to do and if not for his getting caught up in the ethnic cleansing dragnet he would still be…
https://www.joyannreid.com/p/the-vice-president-has-too-much-time
dirkiniowacity Sat 4 Oct 12:26 PM
Some Perspective is in Order
There sure has been a bit of passion displayed over the Ian Roberts matter in the Bleeding Heartland posting and comments space.
The facts still need to be fully confirmed and sorted out. But even in the worst-case scenario, everything is fixable without moving mountains. Of course – with race, immigration, ICE and politics all involved – drama and temperatures will run high.
That’s the world we live in at this moment.
But when compared to the systemic problems that are prevalent in the State of Iowa, the Roberts affair is really pretty small potatoes.
Our waterways are polluted with no urgency by the governing majority to do anything about it.
Iowa public schools are underfunded with tax dollars being diverted to unaccountable, by comparison, private schools.
An actual budget shortfall is being papered over by using rainy day funds. Unnecessary tax cuts disproportionally benefiting the affluent and the aforementioned private school vouchers won’t make solutions any easier.
Rural hospitals and other healthcare providers face a rough road ahead as Iowa’s congressional delegation supports cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Don’t believe them if they tell you otherwise.
Iowa will be negatively impacted as the Trump administration’s economic policies take hold. Prices are rising, jobs are going away and farmers can’t sleep at night as major international markets vanish. It will get worse.
As we witnessed in the Roberts case, ICE is out of control and operating in a manner inconsistent with the rule of law and traditional law enforcement practices.
Long held public health practices and medical research initiatives are being ripped apart in stunning and careless ways.
Of course, there’s much more.
My point is that the Des Moines Public School System will get its act together concerning its hiring practices. But will Iowans get their act together to start electing people that will preserve our children’s futures, not diminish them?
Let’s keep our eyes focused on the big things.
Bill Bumgarner Sat 4 Oct 12:30 PM
thanks Bill
for trying to provide some context and perspective, but of course all of these matters are intimately tied together.
As a practical matter one cannot separate out some aspects of this tangle by labeling them as “culture war” and move onto others one might call “kitchen table”, because culture is where all our guiding values lie and MAGA’s values lead to all of the societal harms you point to.
So indeed let’s not get too focused on any one example such that we lose the bigger picture, or get too caught up in the traps of debating with people living in their conspiracies as there is much work to be done.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/opinion/charlie-kirk-media-truth-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qE8.-EcA.PgpQnf7SG6FR&smid=url-share
dirkiniowacity Sat 4 Oct 1:12 PM
Dirkiniowacity
You don’t really stand by this now do you? 🤢
I’m afraid it will get swept away in the maelstrom of hate and bigotry but by all accounts the man was delivering on the job he was hired to do and if not for his getting caught up in the ethnic cleansing dragnet he would still be…
This guy has drug trafficking charges in New York, had been sued for 400,000 at his previous job for sex discrimination on 3 counts and cost his most previous employers 400,000 !!!!! He is also found to be voting illegally in the state of Maryland as a registered democrat without being a US citizien !!!,
When will liberals just admit this guy was a scammer and never had most of the degree he claimed as more school are releasing information on this phony dude .
I want someone to tell the parents in Des Moines what where the top 5 accomplishments this man had on student success? To do all that with a criminal record and it getting longer .
I love watching people playing mental gymnastics with this case trying to justify even an ounce of this craziness perpetuated by the Des Moines school board. 🤦♂️
Midwestconservative Sat 4 Oct 3:17 PM
This post makes an interesting comparison.
Long ago in high school, I played the role of the mayor’s wife in THE MUSIC MAN. (All hail Hermione Gingold, who was magnificent in the film.) Back then I briefly wondered what happened to Harold Hill after the story ended. Certainly he had greatly helped and inspired River City. But he had also deceived and (expensively) scammed a lot of people. How would he resolve that? But I quickly realized it was just a musical, and it was my term paper that needed attention.
Ian Roberts’ story is still unfolding and there are many questions and rumors, not only about his time in Iowa but his time elsewhere. The actual balance between the the good and the bad he did while living in the U.S. is still unclear, and may remain unclear for some time. I suspect, however, that he will not end up appearing as likeable as Harold Hill.
Meanwhile, there are definitely much bigger and more important issues to deal with, as pointed out above. I understand why, with everything else Trump is doing, relatively little attention is being paid to his blitzkrieg war on nature and science. But that war is horrifying.
PrairieFan Sat 4 Oct 4:34 PM
hi PF
the war on science and nature is horrifying and includes the war on academia (DEI/antisemitism/witch-hunt), and the courts, civil society groups, and all. Meanwhile we are still getting lectured about calling these people fascists as Stephen Miller is on social media saying
“The issue before is now is very simple and clear. There is a large and growing movement of leftwing terrorism in this country. It is well organized and funded. And it is shielded by far-left Democrat judges, prosecutors and attorneys general. The only remedy is to use legitimate state power to dismantle terrorism and terror networks.”
as the newly named dept of war threatens to nationalize troops over the objections of Gov Pritzker.
It’s all deadly grim and more then a little crazy making that so many otherwise good people want to carry on as if there is some business as usual approach to governing. Glad to see others standing up and calling things what they are:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/opinion/trump-compact-universities-constitution.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qk8.Wwhn.WduvlFe9IfL1&smid=url-share
dirkiniowacity Sat 4 Oct 5:04 PM
From "Radical Empathy" to "Multiple Lawsuits"
Interesting update from KCCI. Identity politics be damned
https://www.kcci.com/article/what-to-know-about-dmps-lawsuit-against-firm-used-to-hire-ex-superintendent-ian-roberts/68812839
ModerateDem Sat 4 Oct 8:54 PM
P.S. to my earlier comment
There are many children and adults in the Des Moines Public School district now who are having to get through a very difficult situation through absolutely no fault of their own. I have minimal sympathy for Ian Roberts at this point, but I do really sympathize with those children and adults. Thank you especially to the adults who are stepping up to provide good wise help and counsel to the children.
PrairieFan Sun 5 Oct 1:31 PM
Ripples
Thanks for showing us the light. I fear the dark that will come as Republicans weaponize this story against public schools, black men, the Des Moines School Board, Jackie Norris, Democrats, and more. We’ve only begun to see how ugly this will get.
Jim Chrisinger Tue 7 Oct 7:40 PM
The Music Man is in the air, isn’t it?
I was waking my kids’ dog past St. Paul the Apostle School in Davenport when I heard about five notes of band practice. Maybe the first band practice ever? And my immediate thought was to the parents of those kids who probably couldn’t be prouder that they were able to produce a sound from their instruments—and they seemed to start and stop in unison, which an achievement.
I’ve had professional dealings with high functioning persons living a secret life and they can indeed succeed in their assumed roles for remarkably long periods of time. See George Santos. My dad occupied offices when he first started in business that had previously been occupied by a guy who had built secret exits that I used to play in with my siblings. There are presumably some who were never caught. B
Iowan since 2020 Wed 8 Oct 9:31 PM