(Spirit Lake)– Iowa Senator Dave Rowley of Spirit Lake has announced he’ll be running for another term. Rowley says there was one factor in particular that led up to his decision…
“You know, one of the major things, Steve, is that having been in the Senate now for a full term, I serve on several committees that are very key, and we’ve been very successful in the policies that we’ve played that have taken place over the last session and going forward. It’s nice to run on a voting record. A little history. And I think my constituents know me a lot better than they did certainly four years ago. And we have so much more that we can accomplish.”
And while he’s proud of what’s been accomplished over the past four years, he says more remains to be done…
“Yeah, so property taxes is the hot issue. I’ve been working on vice chair of Ways and Means, and I work with Senator Dawson on that. And that that is a work in progress. So we have, uh, we have more work to do there. Uh, also, some of your listeners may be aware that, uh, I was involved with, uh, trying to resist the use of eminent domain for landowners, and that’s a key issue, too. Um, I want to really tackle the whole energy policy for the state of Iowa and how eminent domain, uh, pertains to that, and work with all parties and just collaborate and work together for a solid energy policy that will satisfy everyone from our farmers to landowners and to the citizens of Iowa.”
KUOO news also asked Rowley about his stance on Governor Kim Reynolds DOGE task force and its upcoming recommendations, particularly when it comes to IPERS…
“I think the key issue here is that nothing has been recommended yet, formally, to the Governor. They won’t meet for another two or three weeks. But initially, IPERS is a very solid pension-defined benefit program. Definitely I’m going to look into it and see what they have to offer. At this point it’s hard to comment, Steve, because we don’t know what they’re laying on the table. And again I want to remind everybody these are discussions. There’s no formal recommendation at this point. There’s a lot of noise out there about what’s coming down the pike with the DOGE Committee but I’m in a wait and see mode to see what they’re really talking about.”
Regarding IPERS, Doge Task Force members last week suggested new hires be put in a 401(k)-style system instead.
