As told to Emily Blobaum Aime Wichtendahl became the first openly trans elected official in Iowa when she was elected to the Hiawatha City Council in 2015. This interview, which has been formatted to be entirely in her own words, has been edited and condensed for clarity. If you were Read more…
Sen. Joni Ernst is the first woman to represent Iowa in federal elective office. She was also the first female combat veteran elected to serve in the U.S. Senate. This interview was conducted by email and the responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. I was reminded of the Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum Jacquie Easley McGhee became the first Black woman to serve on a school board in Central Iowa when she was elected to the Des Moines public school board in 1990. Four years later, she was elected to chair the board. She was also the first Read more…
U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne became one of the first women to represent Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives when she, alongside former Rep. Abby Finkenauer, was elected in 2018. This interview was conducted by email and the responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. It’s hard to celebrate Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum In 2020, Perla Alarcon-Flory became the first Latina to be elected president of the Sioux City School Board. She was first appointed to the school board in 2013 and was elected the following year, becoming the first Latino person elected to political office in Woodbury Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum Bonnie Campbell was the first and remains the only woman to have served as the Iowa attorney general when she was elected in 1990. She was also the first woman to chair the Iowa Democratic Party and was the first director of the federal Office Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum Roxanne Conlin became the first female nominee for governor on a major party ticket in Iowa when she ran against Terry Branstad in 1982. Ten years later, she became the first female president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. In 1977, she became Read more…
By Emily Barske, Business Record editor As the 2021 Iowa legislative session kicked off last week, the first four bills introduced in Iowa’s House of Representatives involved child care reform. That was before midday on Jan. 12, just the second day of the session, and before Gov. Kim Reynolds would also Read more…
By Emily Blobaum, Fearless contributing editor To preface, it’s worth mentioning that every issue is a women’s issue. Women are not monoliths, and interests and what’s at stake differ for everyone. But for these purposes, I’ve selected a few key issues that are considered by many to be issues that Read more…
Story by Emily Blobaum, graphics by Lauren Burt Iowa is one of eight states that have gender balance laws for civic boards and commissions, but is the only state where the requirement additionally penetrates down to the city and county levels. The law reads that all appointive boards, commissions, committees Read more…