Before there was a Senator or a Governor Kempthorne, there was Dirk Kempthorne, Mayor of Boise.For those seeking to understand Dirk Kempthornes legacy, all you have to do is take a walk around downtown Boise.Since Kempthorne die d over the weekend, statesmen and business leaders expressed their grief over the loss. One of those people was former Boise Mayor Brent Coles.Coles served as City Council President when Dirk Kempthorne was Mayor of Boise.WATCH: Former Mayor of Boise discusses Dirk Kempthorne's impact on the downtown area Former Boise Mayor Brent Coles remembers Dirk KempthorneMy initial reaction was very sad, very hard on me, said Cole. Dirk was a mentor for me, an example for me, a great contributor to our community, but he was also a personal friend.Coles shared story after story about how Kempthorne was so engaged with not only city workers but their families.On Christmas Eve at 12:00 midnight, he would get on the radio and wish Merry Christmas to our police officers; he honored our first responders," recalled Coles.Coles says anyone walking through the Grove Plaza today has Kempthorne to thank for what he led back in the late 80s and early 90s.RELATED | 'A servant's heart': Idaho politicians remember former Gov. KempthorneWhere were standing right now was a gravel parking lot, in fact, all of this was a gravel parking lot, empty, vacant, added Coles.After developers proposed building an enclosed mall downtown, city leaders faced a crossroads.Kempthorne believed Boises future needed a different vision not a mall, but a central gathering place for families. That idea gave rise to the Center on the Grove, and later Grove Plaza.Coles recalled the long transformation of downtown: We started one brick at a time. We went out and started selling bricks to build this plaza. After the plaza, we had the convention center. Then came office buildings. We knew we needed a hotel, so we supported the Grove Hotel. And things started to rise out of the ground.He said Kempthorne wanted Boiseans to be proud of their city. Under his leadership, he worked with community leaders to launch the Boise Balloon Festival and the Boise River Festival.Coles misses his friend but will never forget him for what he helped build in the City of Trees.This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less