After losing her stepfather, an online college student honored him the best way she knew how. It’s about continuing to work hard, just like the people of Henderson, Iowa. Then Eva Phipps made American history.
USA TODAY 250th Anniversary Travel Guide and American Stories
USA TODAY celebrates America’s 250th anniversary with travel guides, culture, history and local stories.
In Henderson, Iowa – population 144 – everyone knows everyone.
In March, residents hold an annual nut fly at the fire station and bill it as a “testicle festival.”
And last November, residents elected America’s youngest mayor, 20-year-old Ava Phipps. Phipps also said she is the youngest female mayor in U.S. history.
“I never thought I’d make American history. I thought I’d just run my own little town. But I’m so proud of myself for not feeling bogged down and overwhelmed,” Phipps told USA TODAY.
The online college student won the election by a margin of 24 percentage points, defeating her 45-year-old opponent, truck driver Scott Shondelmeyer, 31 votes to 19.
Her victory is part of a national trend among Gen Z. She is one of a number of newly elected or appointed mayors in their 20s across the country, including 22-year-old leader Garden City Mayor in Kansas and 24-year-old Mayor Carnegie in Pennsylvania.
Mayoral elections, which are typically nonpartisan in many small and medium-sized municipalities, are changing amid protests from Americans calling for generational change in politics. Perhaps the most prominent of these, New York City’s Zoran Mamdani, 34, has captured national attention with his goal of leading America’s largest city.
“Falled in love” with Iowa
Phipps’ parents divorced when he was growing up in New York state. Her father was a U.S. Army veteran who eventually returned to his home state of Iowa. He moved to Henderson, a small town across the Mississippi River from Omaha near his hometown of Council Bluffs.
Her father wanted to live somewhere in the country, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city where he grew up. Henderson doesn’t have a diner or a traffic light (though there are about four or five stop signs). The nearest gas station is 20 minutes away. “We used to have three churches,” Phipps said. “There’s only one left.”
When her father moved to the Midwest in 2018, Phipps remained with her mother in Weedsport, New York. However, she frequently visited her father’s new home. They found a house with enough bedrooms for visiting family, but few neighbors. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic made travel difficult in April 2020, Phipps was stuck in Iowa for the summer and had a plan.
She persuaded her mother to let her move to Iowa for high school. “And I’ve been here pretty much ever since,” Phipps added. People in flyover countries are kinder and educational opportunities are more abundant, Phipps added.
“I fell in love with it,” Phipps said.
She attended highly ranked Traynor High School, earned an associate’s degree from Iowa Western Community College in 2023, and graduated from high school in 2024. Later that year, Phipps’ stepfather, a local businessman who had returned to New York and mentored and mentored her, died of a sudden illness on Christmas Eve. That prompted her to come forward and help Henderson.
Phipps greatly admired her father-in-law, who taught her that “we work hard for what we have, want, and need, but still help others to the best of our ability.”
Phipps decided to run for office the following October and won within a month. She said it was a natural fit because she “loves talking to people.”
“That’s amazing.”
And she’s discussing residents’ concerns, preparing for America’s 250th anniversary celebration, and working to build an accessible playground. Phipps said the closest place for children to play is more than 80 miles from Henderson. The dilapidated amusement park, located off the city’s main street, includes a merry-go-round, two swings instead of four previously, a climbing net and a slide.
“It’s hard enough to get kids outside, let alone when it becomes almost impossible for some kids,” she says. Phipps aims to have the playground completed by the end of his two-year term.
On the third Tuesday of each month, she meets other local women for coffee and a chat about the latest happenings at Henderson City Hall.
Phipps hopes to finish college at Western Governors University. Her studies at the online university are self-paced. After that, he plans to apply to law school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Phipps wants to honor his stepfather the right way.
“I really hope he’s proud,” Phipps said. “He was a huge inspiration.”
Actually Mr. Phipps I know.
