The City of Buffalo

City of Buffalo Council Members

My name is Chris Carson.  I was born and raised living in Buffalo , and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else!  Most of my family also resides here in Buffalo (Parents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, my boyfriend, etc). 

I received both my Bachelor's degree and my Master’s degree from St. Ambrose University in Davenport , graduating with an MBA in 2008. 

I work at the Rock Island Arsenal as a Contract Specialist/Contracting Officer.  My interests include researching the history of Buffalo , and caring for my many animals, of which I love.  I own and live on a small Ranch on top of the hill in Buffalo .  I am currently the president of the Buffalo Historical Society.

I was born in Iowa City where my dad raised me.  I always went to the Kalona Horse Sale every month so I missed 9 days of school every year.  Horses and animals were my life and love.  At 16 years my dad sent me to the Catholic Boarding School in Rock Island, known as Villade Chantel.  For 2 years they taught me to be a lady and tried to make forget horses and such.  They closed the boarding floor after my 10^th and 11^th grades so I went back to Iowa City and graduated from Regina High School.  Uniforms for 3 years! 

I was married several times and had 3 wonderful sons.  Ricky was born in 1964, served 20 years in the Air Force, and now is a Police Detective in Redland California.  Randy (1962) does construction in southern Iowa and Rowdy Joe (1980) lives in Blue Grass with his wife Casey and their daughter Cydnee.  

I have a married granddaughter, Jessica, an air traffic controller with the Marines, who live in North Carolina with her husband Jason Wells and great grandson Jason Wells Jr. 

Granddaughter Kendra has a son (Carter) and Jake (grandson) lives with his dad in Medeopoles Iowa. 

I was a 4H leader and started the Midnight Express Horse Club that is still going strong in Scott County. 

Between 1969 and 1993 I worked for the government:  from a clerk-steno to a Quality Assurance Specialist at AMCCOM.  They sent me to Europe 7 times to hand off M1tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles to the Army and Light Armored Vehicles to the Marines and I was gone for 6 weeks at a time.  I volkswalked in Holland, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, and France, and learned a lot.  The people are great, friendly and we can learn lots from their ways of preserving and saving their land. 

Meanwhile, I bought my 1^st home on Spruce Street in Buffalo in 1974.  I had horses, ponies and goats and showed them often.  In 1989 I bought the old Apple Hollow Orchard on Franklin Street and have been there ever since.  I raise and train horses, ponies and mules and have Nigerian, Saanen, Lamancha and other Dairy goats.  I work at the Pumpkin Patch the last weekend of September through October with my animals. 

I have served on City Council since 2002.  My campaign promise was to start a local newspaper.  We had a contest for the name and it became the Buffalo Shores Gazette.  I did it by myself for 4 years and then Chris Carson stepped in to help because she has a computer and a little more time.