Meet Kyle
Kyle Gripp is a 33 year old, Davenport native, husband, and father of four young children. Kyle was born in Northwest Davenport, attended Davenport Public Schools, and graduated from Davenport Central in 2001. While attending Central he met his future wife Abby Gripp. It was during his time at Davenport Central that he began to realize his deep appreciation for the City of Davenport. River Vision was just getting underway and the promise of a vibrant downtown had Kyle very excited for the city’s future. Kyle always knew that he wanted to set down his roots and live his life in Davenport, Iowa.
Kyle went on to attend St. Ambrose University majoring in Business Administration. Kyle played Baseball at St. Ambrose. He was a three year starter at first base and a two year NAIA Academic All-American. During his junior year Kyle began coaching baseball at Davenport Central. He found that he was very passionate about coaching and mentoring young men and he climbed the ranks at Central beginning as the freshmen coach and eventually becoming the assistant varsity coach. Kyle is extremely proud of the relationships that he was able to build with his players and their families as well as the on field success.
Upon graduation from St. Ambrose in 2005 Kyle went to work learning the ropes of the family business while also working on his master’s degree in public administration from Drake University. Kyle’s family has owned and operated a moving and storage company in Davenport for over 50 years. His Grandfather Lee Gripp operated Lee Gripp Transfer and his father later went on to open Steve Gripp Moving and Storage Inc which is still in operation and is located in southwest Davenport. Upon graduation from Drake Kyle married his wife Abby and they bought a house in the Glenn Armil neighborhood. At that time Kyle accepted a job with the Target Corporation in their
Executive Leadership Program. Kyle worked as an Executive Team Leader of Logistics for the Target Corporation for 3 years. During that time he was able to turn around a struggling store and turn it into a top logistics store in the company. He was also named District Resource for Logistics and supported 8 stores. Kyle recognized that if his career were to progress at Target he was going to have to move out of Davenport and that was not something he was willing to do.
In 2010 Kyle accepted a job at the Rock Island Arsenal with Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (RIA-JMTC). Kyle spent 6 months training at the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, TX and reported to JMTC as a Quality Assurance Specialist. He is now the Lead Quality Planner at JMTC and enjoys being able to support his country and the American warfighter. Kyle still lives in Davenport, Iowa with his Wife Abby and his four Children ages 9, 7, 5, and 5. He is an active member of Toastmasters International, the Cornbelt Running Club, and CCF Moline. He enjoys running, has completed 4 marathons, and is extremely proud of the running community we have in Davenport. He is a volunteer coach at South East Little League for his oldest son’s baseball team. Kyle was elected to his first term as Alderman At-Large in November of 2015. He currently serves as the Chair for Community Development on the city council, is on the board for the Greater Davenport Redevelopment Corporation, serves on the Zoning Advisory Committee, serves as the council liaison to the Davenport Levee Improvement Commission, and is a member of the Davenport GO Multi-Modal Transportation Steering Committee. In his first term on council Kyle is most proud of the implementation of a 5 year road maintenance program, expanding the tax base through stronger than normal commercial and residential growth, and being a driver of the Food Truck Pilot Program and Food Truck Ordinance.