Week 4 of the session was marked with sorrow and reflection as we mourned the loss of one of our House colleagues, Rep. Martin Graber. Rep. Graber was not only a beloved husband and father, but also a 32 year veteran of the Iowa National Guard, retiring as a Brigadier General. He was elected ...
Last week, in an effort to tackle an ongoing crisis that affects Iowa’s children, families, and workers alike, Senate Democrats are turning our attention toward one of Iowa’s most persistent issues: childcare.
Childcare is one of the single-largest expenses in the monthly budget for any ...
People are talking about Iowa’s alarming cancer rates, but they need to turn up the volume.
“We have to start getting loud with our elected officials about doing something about it,” Iowa Cancer Registry Director Mary Charlton recently told Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Iowa had the ...
The Iowa legislature seems to be in full swing now. The state Senate and House have Republican supermajorities, the largest since 1970, so this is their legislative session to be had. Seeing as how many of them represent folks like me in rural Iowa, I sure hope they don’t forget about us and ...
Week 2 of the session is done, and the committee work of moving bills through the system is well underway.
The first bill that I’ve begun to advance is a resolution, House Joint Resolution 1, that seeks to add the right to hunt, fish, and trap to the state constitution. Our rights to these ...
I am back in Des Moines to represent you, and I am honored to get back to work to keep making District 76 and Iowa the best they can be. This week I want to give you a look into what we plan on doing this legislative session and the work I will be doing.
Committee work
This year I am serving ...
Effective advocacy requires understanding the legislative process and employing strategic communication. Iowans can impact legislation by providing their perspective on a bill and explaining the reasoning for their position.
As a former Iowa State Senator from Maquoketa, I served in the Iowa ...
Greetings from the Iowa Capitol! As your newly elected state senator, I am deeply honored and humbled by the trust you have placed in me to represent our community. Walking the historic halls of the Capitol fills me with pride and a profound sense of duty. Each day brings unique challenges and ...
The 2025 legislative session is well underway. As I write this, the opening addresses from the Governor, the Chief Justice, and the head of the Iowa National Guard are all done, many bills are getting filed, and our committee work is underway.
The major theme for this session will be the ...
Republicans have expanded their majority in both the House and the Senate. With a 67-33 majority in the House and a 34-15 majority in the Senate, the party is positioned for continued influence in Iowa’s state government. However, there was a slight reduction in this majority when Senator ...